Definition Definition

flow - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'flow' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Flow
- imp. sing. of Fly, v. i.
2 . Flow [ n.]
- A stream of water or other fluid; a current; as, a flow of water; a flow of blood.
- A continuous movement of something abundant; as, a flow of words.
- Any gentle, gradual movement or procedure of thought, diction, music, or the like, resembling the quiet, steady movement of a river; a stream.
- The tidal setting in of the water from the ocean to the shore. See Ebb and flow, under Ebb.
- A low-lying piece of watery land; -- called also flow moss and flow bog.
3 . Flow [ v. i.]
- To move with a continual change of place among the particles or parts, as a fluid; to change place or circulate, as a liquid; as, rivers flow from springs and lakes; tears flow from the eyes.
- To become liquid; to melt.
- To proceed; to issue forth; as, wealth flows from industry and economy.
- To glide along smoothly, without harshness or asperties; as, a flowing period; flowing numbers; to sound smoothly to the ear; to be uttered easily.
- To have or be in abundance; to abound; to full, so as to run or flow over; to be copious.
- To hang loose and waving; as, a flowing mantle; flowing locks.
- To rise, as the tide; -- opposed to ebb; as, the tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.
- To discharge blood in excess from the uterus.
4 . Flow [ v. t.]
- To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.
- To cover with varnish.

Meaning of 'flow' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . flow [ n]
Meaning (1):
- something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously
Example in sentence:
  • a stream of people emptied from the terminal;
  • the museum had planned carefully for the flow of visitors
Meaning (2):
- the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause
Example in sentence:
  • a woman does not take the gout unless her menses be stopped;
  • the semen begins to appear in males and to be emitted at the same time of life that the catamenia begin to flow in females;
  • the women were sickly and subject to excessive menstruation
Meaning (3):
- dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas
Example in sentence:
  • stream of consciousness;
  • the current of history;
  • the flow of thought;
  • two streams of development run through American history
4 . flow [ v]
Meaning (4):
- fall or flow in a certain way
Example in sentence:
  • Her long black hair flowed down her back;
  • This dress hangs well
Meaning (5):
- undergo menstruation
Example in sentence:
  • She started menstruating at the age of 11
Meaning (6):
- cause to flow
Example in sentence:
  • The artist flowed the washes on the paper;
  • The nurse drew blood
Meaning (7):
- be abundantly present
Example in sentence:
  • The champagne flowed at the wedding
Meaning (8):
- move or progress freely as if in a stream
Example in sentence:
  • The crowd flowed out of the stadium
Meaning (9):
- move along, of liquids
Example in sentence:
  • the Missouri feeds into the Mississippi;
  • Water flowed into the cave