turbulent flow

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noun Hydraulics.

the flow of a fluid past an object such that the velocity at any fixed point in the fluid varies irregularly.

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Compare streamline flow.

Origin of turbulent flow

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby turbulent flow

turbosupercharger, turbot, turbotrain, turbulence, turbulent, turbulent flow, Turco-, Turcoman, Turcophile, Turcophobe, Turcot syndrome

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use turbulent flow in a sentence

It’s really a very turbulent flow that is rising and flowing onto land pretty quickly.
How to survive a tsunami|Kate Baggaley|October 7, 2021|Popular-Science
But the jokes flow at such a torrential pace that duds are soon forgotten; the best are even Spamalot-worthy.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Ebb and flow, checks and balances, the center would hold, et cetera.
A Veteran’s View: NYC Cold War Between Cops and City Hall|Matt Gallagher|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“The lies of the government shocked us,” says Fatima, as the tears flow slowly from her eyes and down her cheek.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But before a new tide of tourists can flow from Miami to Havana, Cuba will need to build more runways.
Goodbye, Bahamas. Hello, Havana!|Clive Irving|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Speak to the friends and people you need to root out in life and let that conversation flow.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting|Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The volcanic eruptions of the mountains on the west broke down its barriers, and let its waters flow.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
And Tom, aware that he winced, was also aware that something in his life congealed and stopped its normal flow.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
The arrows represent the flow of money from each of these four categories to the others.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Its entrance into and exit from banks is a flow, but not a circulation against goods.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Therefore, the total circulation exceeds the total flow from and to banks by the amount flowing through "nondepositors."
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for turbulent flow

turbulent flow

noun

flow of a fluid in which its velocity at any point varies rapidly in an irregular mannerCompare laminar flow See also streamline flow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for turbulent flow

turbulent flow

[ tûr′byə-lənt ]

Movement of a fluid in which subcurrents in the fluid display turbulence, moving in irregular patterns, while the overall flow is in one direction. Turbulent flow is common in nonviscous fluids moving at high velocities. Compare laminar flow.