# flow

Pronunciation: say "FLOH" US /floʊ/, UK /fləʊ/

## Verb

1. To run or stream from one point to another in the manner of a fluid.
   - Simple: To move along the way a liquid does, from one place to another.
   - _Streams flow down from the melting glaciers each spring._
   - _The water flowed steadily through the narrow channel._
4. To proceed or fit together smoothly, gracefully, or without interruption.
   - Simple: To move or fit together in a smooth, graceful way.
   - _Good transitions help paragraphs flow into one another._
   - _The melody flowed seamlessly into the next song._
6. To proceed or issue forth from a source; to emanate.
   - Simple: To come out or spread steadily from a source.
   - _Confidence seemed to flow from every word he spoke._
   - _Benefits flowed from the new agreement almost immediately._
9. To hang loosely and wave, as hair or fabric moves in the wind.
   - Simple: To hang loosely and move gently in the air, like hair or cloth.
   - _The bride's veil flowed behind her down the aisle._
   - _Loose robes flow around the dancers as they spin._
12. Of a place or vessel, to have something in great abundance, as if full to overflowing; usually followed by with.
   - Simple: To be full of a very large amount of something, almost spilling over.
   - _During the harvest, the valley flows with wine and oil._
   - _The early settlers hoped to find a land flowing with milk and honey._
13. To let a liquid run or move freely.
   - Simple: To let a liquid run or pour out.
   - _Technicians flow coolant through the system before startup._
   - _The valve flows oil into the chamber at a steady rate._
15. Of the tide, to rise and move inland, the opposite of ebbing.
   - Simple: When the tide comes in and the sea rises toward the shore.
   - _Twice a day the tide flows, lifting the moored boats higher._
   - _Small boats can cross the sandbar only once the tide starts to flow._
16. To reflow text, in a word processor or similar program, so that its lines wrap tidily within a set area.
   - Simple: To arrange text so it fits neatly into a set space on a page.
   - _Editors flow long passages into the template before printing._
   - _The software flows the manuscript into the new layout automatically._

## Noun

2. The steady, continuous movement of a liquid, gas, or something pictured as flowing, such as people, traffic, or information.
   - Simple: A steady movement of water, air, people, or things in one direction.
   - _The steady flow of the mountain stream powered the old mill._
   - _The flow of conversation slowed when the topic turned serious._
3. The quantity of fluid that moves, or the rate at which fluid moves past a point.
   - Simple: The amount of liquid or gas that moves, or how fast it moves past a point.
   - _The meter records the flow through the pipe in liters per minute._
   - _After weeks without rain, the creek's flow was down to a few gallons a minute._
5. A smooth, continuous quality, especially in movement, writing, or speech.
   - Simple: A smooth, even quality, with no sudden stops or breaks.
   - _The essay lacked flow, jumping awkwardly between unrelated ideas._
   - _Her speech had a graceful flow that held the audience._
7. The sequence of steps or screens in a piece of software that a user or the program goes through to complete a task, such as signing up or paying.
   - Simple: The steps a user or a program goes through to get something done in an app or website.
   - _The team redesigned the onboarding flow to reduce drop-offs._
   - _Each error in the payment flow was logged for review._
10. A mental state marked by deep concentration, focus, and enjoyment while doing a task.
   - Simple: A focused state of mind where you fully enjoy a task and lose track of everything else.
   - _Athletes often describe a sense of flow when everything clicks during competition._
   - _She reached a deep flow while coding and finished hours later._
8. The ability to rap skillfully and smoothly in time with a beat.
   - Simple: The skill of rapping smoothly in time with a beat.
   - _His flow rides the beat so smoothly that every line lands perfectly._
   - _Critics praised her flow on the album's opening track._
11. The blood emitted from the body during menstruation.
   - Simple: The blood that leaves the body during a monthly period.
   - _She tracks her flow each month using an app._
   - _A heavy flow can leave a person tired and low on iron._
14. The rising movement of the tide as water comes inward toward the shore.
   - Simple: The rising movement of the sea as the tide comes in.
   - _Fishermen timed their return with the flow of the tide._
   - _The marshes fill twice a day with the incoming flow._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To discharge an excessive amount of blood from the uterus.
- (verb) To cover something with water or another liquid; to flood or inundate it.
- (noun) In mathematics, a formalization of the motion of particles in a fluid, described as a group action of the real numbers on a set.
- (noun) The pipe that carries liquid away from a boiler or other central plant, as opposed to the return pipe that brings it back.
- (verb) To coat or cover a surface with varnish.
- (noun) A bog or mire, especially a rough, waterlogged stretch of ground.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3, 5, 7–8, 10–11, 14** — This noun grew out of the verb in Middle English, where it was flowe. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi gave it its psychology sense, a "state of focus," in 1975.
**Meanings 1, 4, 6, 9, 12–13, 15–16** — From Middle English flowen, from Old English flōwan ("to flow"), going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to the Proto-Indo-European root *plew- ("to fly, flow, run"). It is related to Dutch vloeien and West Frisian floeie, and to English float, but despite the similarity it is not related to Latin fluō.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/flow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).