stream

Pluralstreams

Formsstreams, streaming, streamed

1. 1
   small waterwaynouncountable

   A small river or large creek: a body of moving water held between two banks.

   Trout thrive in the cold mountain stream above the village.

   Several small streams feed into the lake from the surrounding hills.

   Similarbrook, creek, rivulet, river, tributary

   Note

   In everyday use a stream is usually smaller than a river. It compounds freely with what lives in it, as in the cold trout-streams of the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897). Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The Celebrity is by the American novelist Winston Churchill. en.wiktionary.org
   • The Celebrity contains the expression 'cold trout-streams'. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   deliver onlineverbtransitive

   To deliver continuous data such as music or video from a server to a device, playing it as it arrives rather than after a full download.

   The service lets subscribers stream thousands of films directly to their televisions.

   Their app streams audio at higher quality over fast connections.

   UsageUsually stream a film or song, or stream it to a device; streaming service is a common compound.

   Similartransmit, deliver

   Note

   The technical point is timing: playback begins before the whole file has arrived, unlike an ordinary download, which usually finishes first. Buffering smooths out uneven network speed so the music or film plays without gaps. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Streaming allows playback to begin before the entire file arrives. cloudflare.com
   • Buffering helps maintain smooth playback despite brief network interruptions. cloudflare.com
3. 3
   endless linenouncountable

   A continuous flow or steady succession of something, such as water, air, people, vehicles, words, or the course of a person's thoughts.

   A constant stream of visitors filed through the gallery.

   Her speech delivered a stream of vivid images.

   UsageUsually a stream of something: a steady stream of visitors, a constant stream of cars.

   Similarflow, succession, series, string

   Note

   It suggests steady succession rather than a flood, and writers escalate it when the volume rises. Helen Pidd in 2011 warns that a stream of migrants "threatens to become a torrent." Margery Allingham's "boiling stream of passers-by" shows the liquid image still lingering. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Helen Pidd wrote the quoted warning about a stream of migrants in 2011. theguardian.com
   • Margery Allingham used the phrase "boiling stream of passers-by". en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   transmit liveverbtransitive or intransitive

   To broadcast live video or audio over the internet, transmitting an event to viewers as it takes place.

   Thousands of gamers stream their sessions on dedicated platforms.

   He streamed the protest live from the city square.

   UsageOften with no object (she streams every evening), or stream an event live.

   Similarbroadcast, livestream, webcast, air, transmit

5. 5
   listen or viewnouncountable

   A single instance of digital data, such as music or video, being delivered and played continuously over a network.

   Artists now earn much of their income from streams rather than album sales.

   Every stream of the track adds to its chart position.

   UsageCounted per play: a billion streams, earn money from streams.

   Similarplay, listen

   Note

   The streaming business runs on this countable noun: each qualifying play of a track or show counts as one stream, so artists earn from streams and charts count them. Casual writing even treats it as a unit of attention. Cosmopolitan urges readers to give a series "a stream," on the model of giving something a listen or a try.

6. 6
   live broadcastnouncountable

   A live broadcast of video or audio transmitted over the internet, watched by an audience as the event unfolds.

   The developer's launch stream drew over a million concurrent viewers.

   Moderators kept the chat civil throughout the long stream.

   Similarlivestream, broadcast, webcast

7. 7
   flow steadilyverbintransitive

   Of a liquid, gas, light, or crowd, to flow or move in a continuous, steady current; also, of a source, to pour out liquid in a steady flow.

   Cold air streamed through the gap beneath the door all night.

   Commuters stream into the station every morning at rush hour.

   UsageUsually with a direction: stream down, stream into, stream through, as in tears streamed down her face.

   Note

   The basic verb keeps the noun's liquid motion but lends it to anything that moves steadily: air, crowds, and above all light. In John Meade Falkner's Moonfleet (1898), spring sunlight streamed through a window, while Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) uses it literally of rivers. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • John Meade Falkner wrote Moonfleet, first published in 1898. en.wikipedia.org
   • Moonfleet describes spring sunlight streaming through a window. gutenberg.org
   • John Milton wrote Paradise Lost. en.wikisource.org
   • Paradise Lost was first published in 1667. en.wikisource.org
   • Paradise Lost uses the verb stream literally of rivers. en.wikisource.org
8. 8
   strandnounfigurativelycountable

   A distinct route, channel, or division through which something proceeds, or a particular way of going about it.

   The organization manages three separate revenue streams.

   Each application is sorted into the appropriate processing stream.

   UsageCommon in revenue stream and income stream.

   Similarchannel, source, track, path, pathway

   Note

   A figurative division, used for branches of a religious movement as readily as for channels of money or paperwork: Haredi Judaism can be called a stream of Orthodox Judaism. The image is of one current splitting into several that run side by side. The word therefore suits groupings that share a source but go their own way. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Haredi Judaism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism. en.wikipedia.org
9. 9
   data sequencenouncountable

   A source or repository of data that can be read from or written to only in sequence.

   The parser consumes the input stream token by token.

   Writing to the output stream flushes each buffer in turn.

   Note

   Programmers mean something strict by it: data that can only be taken in order, one element after another. In this strict sense, a program cannot jump into a stream at an arbitrary point, as random-access storage allows. Much processing is the turning of one stream into another. Lexical analysis, for instance, converts a stream of characters into a stream of meaningful tokens. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Some streams permit only sequential access; others support seeking to arbitrary positions. The absolute restriction is false. docs.python.org
   • Stream processing includes transforming streams of data. docs.oracle.com
   • Lexical analysis converts characters into a stream of tokens. docs.python.org
10. 10
    currentnouncountable

    The current of a body of water; the force exerted by water in motion.

    The kayaker let the stream pull her around the bend.

    Rowing against the stream tired them within minutes.

    UsageOften against the stream; swim against the stream also means resist what most people do.

    Similarcurrent, flow, tide

    Note

    Here the word names the push of the water rather than the water itself, which is why it pairs so naturally with against and with. To go against the stream is to resist the way things are moving.

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