flow

flow

to move along in a stream; to circulate; to issue or proceed from a source

Not to be confused with:

floe – a sheet of floating ice, as on the surface of the sea

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

flow

 (flō)

v. flowed, flow·ing, flows

v.intr.

1.

a. To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid.

b. To issue in a stream; pour forth: Sap flowed from the gash in the tree.

2. To circulate, as the blood in the body.

3. To move with a continual shifting of component particles: wheat flowing into the bin; traffic flowing through the tunnel.

4. To proceed steadily and easily: The preparations flowed smoothly.

5. To exhibit a smooth or graceful continuity: The poem's cadence flowed gracefully.

6. To hang loosely and gracefully: The cape flowed from his shoulders.

7. To rise. Used of the tide.

8. To arise; derive: Many conclusions flow from this hypothesis.

9.

a. To be abundant; teem: coffers flowing with treasure; wine flowing at the celebration.

b. To move from one place to another in large numbers: Contributions flowed in from all parts of the country.

10. To menstruate.

11. To undergo plastic deformation without cracking or breaking. Used of rocks, metals, or minerals.

v.tr.

1. To release as a flow: trees flowing thin sap.

2. To cause to flow: "One of the real keys to success is developing a system where you can flow traffic to yourselves" (Marc Klee).

n.

1.

a. The act of flowing.

b. The smooth motion characteristic of fluids.

2.

a. A stream or current.

b. A flood or overflow.

c. A residual mass that has stopped flowing: a hardened lava flow.

3.

a. A continuous output or outpouring: a flow of ideas; produced a steady flow of stories.

b. A continuous movement or circulation: the flow of traffic; a flow of paperwork across his desk.

4. The amount that flows in a given period of time.

5. The rising of the tide.

6. Continuity and smoothness of appearance.

7. A general movement or tendency: a dissenter who went against the flow of opinion.

8. The sequence in which operations are performed.

9. An apparent ease or effortlessness of performance: "An athlete must learn to forget the details of his or her training to achieve the instinctive sense of flow that characterizes a champion" (Frederick Turner).

10. Menstrual discharge.

---

[Middle English flouen, from Old English flōwan; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]

---

flow′ing·ly adv.

Synonyms: flow, current, flood, rush¹, stream, tide¹
These nouns denote something suggestive of running water, as in power of movement or abundance: a flow of thought; the current of history; a flood of ideas; a rush of sympathy; a stream of complaints; a tide of immigration. See Also Synonyms at stem¹.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flow

(fləʊ)

vb (mainly intr)

1. (of liquids) to move or be conveyed as in a stream

2. (of blood) to circulate around the body

3. to move or progress freely as if in a stream: the crowd flowed into the building.

4. to proceed or be produced continuously and effortlessly: ideas flowed from her pen.

5. to show or be marked by smooth or easy movement

6. to hang freely or loosely: her hair flowed down her back.

7. to be present in abundance: wine flows at their parties.

8. (Physiology) an informal word for menstruate

9. (Physical Geography) (of tide water) to advance or rise. Compare ebb¹

10. (tr) to cover or swamp with liquid; flood

11. (Geological Science) (of rocks such as slate) to yield to pressure without breaking so that the structure and arrangement of the constituent minerals are altered

n

12. the act, rate, or manner of flowing: a fast flow.

13. a continuous stream or discharge

14. continuous progression

15. (Physical Geography) the advancing of the tide

16. (Physical Geography) a stream of molten or solidified lava

17. the amount of liquid that flows in a given time

18. (Physiology) an informal word for menstruation

19. (Physical Geography)

a. a marsh or swamp

b. an inlet or basin of the sea

c. (capital when part of a name): Scapa Flow.

20. flow of spirits natural happiness

[Old English flōwan; related to Old Norse flōa, Middle Low German vlōien, Greek plein to float, Sanskrit plavate he swims]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

flow

(floʊ)

v.i.

1. to move along in a stream: The river flows to the sea.

2. to circulate, as blood.

3. to stream or well forth.

4. to issue or proceed from a source: Orders flowed from the office.

5. to come or go as in a stream: Masses of people flowed by.

6. to proceed continuously: The words flowed from his pen.

7. to hang loosely at full length: hair flowing down her back.

8. to abound in something: a land flowing with plentiful harvests.

9. to menstruate.

10. to rise and advance, as the tide (opposed to ebb).

v.t.

11. to cause or permit to flow.

12. to cover with liquid; flood.

n.

13. an act of flowing.

14. movement in or as if in a stream.

15. the rate of flowing.

16. the volume of fluid that flows through a passage during a given unit of time.

17. something that flows; stream.

18. an outpouring of something: a flow of blood.

19. menstruation.

20. an overflowing; flood.

21. the rise of the tide (opposed to ebb).

22. the transference of energy: heat flow.

Idioms:

go with the flow, to follow prevailing trends.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English flōwan]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

flow

Past participle: flowed
Gerund: flowing

Imperative

flow

flow

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	flow - the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases) flowing fountain, jet - an artificially produced flow of water change of location, travel - a movement through space that changes the location of something ebb, reflux - the outward flow of the tide backflow, backflowing - a flow that returns toward its source air flow, airflow, flow of air - the flow of air; "she adjusted the fan so that the airflow was directed right at her" current, stream - a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes); "the raft floated downstream on the current"; "he felt a stream of air"; "the hose ejected a stream of water" freshet, spate - the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow runoff, overflow, overspill - the occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or capacity drippage, dripping - a liquid (as water) that flows in drops (as from the eaves of house) outpouring, discharge, run - the pouring forth of a fluid fluxion, flux - a flow or discharge oozing, seepage, ooze - the process of seeping dribble, drip, trickle - flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid; "there's a drip through the roof" emission - the occurrence of a flow of water (as from a pipe) gush, outpouring, flush - a sudden rapid flow (as of water); "he heard the flush of a toilet"; "there was a little gush of blood"; "she attacked him with an outpouring of words" surge, upsurge, rush, spate - a sudden forceful flow
	2.	flow - the amount of fluid that flows in a given time flow rate, rate of flow cardiac output - the amount of blood pumped out by the ventricles in a given period of time; "a resting adult has a cardiac output of about three quarts a minute" rate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected"
	3.	flow - the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression stream movement, move, motion - the act of changing location from one place to another; "police controlled the motion of the crowd"; "the movement of people from the farms to the cities"; "his move put him directly in my path" spillage, spill, release - the act of allowing a fluid to escape overflow, flood, outpouring - a large flow
	4.	flow - any uninterrupted stream or discharge backwash, slipstream, airstream, wash - the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller turbulent flow - flow in which the velocity at any point varies erratically streamline flow - flow of a gas or liquid in which the velocity at any point is relatively steady filling - flow into something (as a container) flowage - gradual internal motion or deformation of a solid body (as by heat); "rock fracture and rock flowage are different types of geological deformation" inflow, influx - the process of flowing in natural action, natural process, action, activity - a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); "the action of natural forces"; "volcanic activity" effluence, efflux, outflow - the process of flowing out
	5.	flow - something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously; "a stream of people emptied from the terminal"; "the museum had planned carefully for the flow of visitors" stream motion - a state of change; "they were in a state of steady motion"
	6.	flow - dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas; "two streams of development run through American history"; "stream of consciousness"; "the flow of thought"; "the current of history" stream, current course, line - a connected series of events or actions or developments; "the government took a firm course"; "historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available"
	7.	flow - the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause; "the women were sickly and subject to excessive menstruation"; "a woman does not take the gout unless her menses be stopped"--Hippocrates; "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"--Aristotle catamenia, menses, menstruation, menstruum, period expelling, discharge, emission - any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body; "the discharge of pus" hypermenorrhea, menorrhagia - abnormally heavy or prolonged menstruation; can be a symptom of uterine tumors and can lead to anemia if prolonged oligomenorrhea - abnormally light or infrequent menstruation
Verb	1.	flow - move or progress freely as if in a stream; "The crowd flowed out of the stadium" flux move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" cockle, ripple, ruffle, undulate, riffle - stir up (water) so as to form ripples transpirate, transpire - pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas
	2.	flow - move along, of liquids; "Water flowed into the cave"; "the Missouri feeds into the Mississippi" course, run, feed flush - flow freely; "The garbage flushed down the river" jet, gush - issue in a jet; come out in a jet; stream or spring forth; "Water jetted forth"; "flames were jetting out of the building" move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" tide, surge - rise or move forward; "surging waves" circulate - move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point; "Blood circulates in my veins"; "The air here does not circulate" eddy, purl, whirlpool, swirl, whirl - flow in a circular current, of liquids waste, run off - run off as waste; "The water wastes back into the ocean" run down - move downward; "The water ran down" pour - flow in a spurt; "Water poured all over the floor" spill, run out - flow, run or fall out and become lost; "The milk spilled across the floor"; "The wine spilled onto the table" well out, stream - flow freely and abundantly; "Tears streamed down her face" dribble, trickle, filter - run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream; "water trickled onto the lawn from the broken hose"; "reports began to dribble in" drain, run out - flow off gradually; "The rain water drains into this big vat" ooze, seep - pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings gutter - flow in small streams; "Tears guttered down her face" be due, flow from - be the result of
	3.	flow - cause to flow; "The artist flowed the washes on the paper"
	4.	flow - be abundantly present; "The champagne flowed at the wedding" exist, be - have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?"
	5.	flow - fall or flow in a certain way; "This dress hangs well"; "Her long black hair flowed down her back" hang, fall
	6.	flow - cover or swamp with water flood - cover with liquid, usually water; "The swollen river flooded the village"; "The broken vein had flooded blood in her eyes" lave, lap, wash - wash or flow against; "the waves laved the shore"
	7.	flow - undergo menstruation; "She started menstruating at the age of 11" menstruate bleed, hemorrhage, shed blood - lose blood from one's body

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

flow

verb

1. run, course, rush, sweep, move, issue, pass, roll, flood, pour, slide, proceed, stream, run out, surge, spill, go along, circulate, swirl, glide, ripple, cascade, whirl, overflow, gush, inundate, deluge, spurt, teem, spew, squirt, purl, well forth A stream flowed down into the valley.

2. pour, move, sweep, flood, stream, overflow Large numbers of refugees continue to flow into the country.

3. issue, follow, result, emerge, spring, pour, proceed, arise, derive, ensue, emanate Undesirable consequences flow from these misconceptions.

noun

1. stream, current, movement, motion, course, issue, flood, drift, tide, spate, gush, flux, outpouring, outflow, undertow, tideway watching the quiet flow of the olive-green water

2. outpouring, flood, stream, succession, train, plenty, abundance, deluge, plethora, outflow, effusion, emanation the opportunity to control the flow of information

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

flow

verb

1. To move freely as a liquid:

circulate, course, run, stream.

2. To pass or pour out:

discharge, empty, issue.

3. To come forth or emit in abundance:

gush, pour, run, rush, stream, surge, well.

4. To proceed with ease, especially of expression:

glide, roll, sail.

5. To have as a source:

arise, come, derive, emanate, issue, originate, proceed, rise, spring, stem, upspring.

6. To be abundantly filled or richly supplied:

abound, bristle, crawl, overflow, pullulate, swarm, teem.

noun

Something suggestive of running water:

current, drift, flood, flux, rush, spate, stream, surge, tide.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

تَدَفُّقيَتَدَفَّقيَتَدَفَّقُيَرْتَفِع

течение

přílivproudprouditstoupattéci

strømstrømmeflodløbe

FließenFlussFlutsteigen

κυλώπαροχήροή

fluirflujocircularcorrercorriente

ladusussujuvustõusvool

virratavirtaamavirtaus

coulerécoulementfluxmonterafflux

teći

árad

flæîa aîrenna, flæîa, streymastraumur, flaumur

flussoscorrerefluvialeriflussoaffluire

流れる

흐르다

proceso diagramasrautastekėjimastekėti

celtiesplūdumsplūšanaplūsmaplūst

stromenvloeien

flomflytflytegjennomstrømmingstige

popłynąć

fluirfluxo

curgeflux

потоктечьприливтечениеплавность

cirkuláciatiecťtok

tečitok

flytaströmma

ไหล

akmakakışakmayükselmek

chảy

流动涨

flow

[fləʊ]

A. N [of river, tide, Elec] → corriente f, flujo m; (= direction) → curso m; [of blood] (from wound) → flujo; [of words etc] → torrente m
the flow of traffic → la circulación (del tráfico)
to maintain a steady flow [of people, vehicles] → mantener un movimiento constante
to go with the flow → dejarse llevar

B. VI [river] → fluir, discurrir; [tide] → subir, crecer; [blood] (from wound) → manar; (through body) → circular; [tears] → correr; [hair] → caer suavemente or con soltura; [words] → fluir
tears flowed down her cheeks → le corrían las lágrimas por las mejillas
the river flows through the valley → el río fluye or discurre por el valle
the river flowed over its banks → el río se desbordó
the river flows into the sea → el río desemboca en el mar
water was flowing from the pipe → el agua brotaba de la tubería
traffic is now flowing normally → el tráfico ya circula or fluye or discurre con normalidad
money flowed in → el dinero entraba a raudales
people are flowing in → entra la gente a raudales
to keep the conversation flowing → mantener viva la conversación
the town flowed with wine and food → el pueblo abundaba en vino y comida
see also ebb

C. CPD flow chart, flow diagram N → organigrama m
flow sheet N (Comput) → diagrama m de flujo, ordinograma m (Admin) → organigrama m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flow

[ˈfləʊ]

n

[water] → écoulement m

the flow of traffic → le flot de véhicules

[information] → flux m; [talk] → flot m

[orders, letters] → flot m

(= tide) → flux m
to be in full flow [activity] → marcher à plein régime; [speaker] → être sur sa lancée
to go with the flow → suivre le mouvement

[blood] → circulation f blood flow

[electrical current] → circulation f

[river] → courant m

vi

[water] → couler; [river] → couler; [tears] → ruisseler
Water was flowing from the pipe → De l'eau s'écoulait du tuyau.

(= move) [traffic] → s'écouler; [people] → affluer

[electrical current] → passer

(= circulate) [information] → circuler; [money] → circuler

[robes, hair] → flotterflow chart flow diagram n → organigramme m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

flow

vi

(lit, fig) → fließen; (tears) → strömen, fließen; (prose) → flüssig sein; where the river flows into the sea → wo der Fluss ins Meer mündet; tears were flowing down her cheeks → Tränen liefen or flossen or strömten ihr übers Gesicht; the wine flowed freely all evening → der Wein floss den ganzen Abend in Strömen; to make the conversation flow → ein lebhaftes Gespräch in Gang bringen; to keep the traffic flowing → den Verkehr nicht ins Stocken kommen lassen; his words flowed readily → er redete sehr flüssig; to flow in/out (water, people, money etc) → hinein-/herausströmen; a surge of hatred flowed through me → Hass wallte in mir auf

(dress, hair etc) → fließen, wallen

(tide) → steigen, hereinkommen

n

→ Fluss m; (of people) → Strom m; the flow of blood/traffic/information → der Blut-/Verkehrs-/Informationsfluss; against the flow of the river → gegen den Strom; to go with the flow (fig) → mit dem Strom schwimmen

the tide is on the flow → die Flut kommt

(of words etc) → Redefluss m; the powerful flow of his prose → seine wortgewaltige Prosa; the flow of conversation → der Gesprächsfluss; he was in full flow → er war richtig in Fahrt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flow

[fləʊ]

1. n (of river, also) (Elec) → corrente f; (of tide) → flusso; (of blood, from wound) → uscita; (in veins) → circolazione f; (of words) → fiume m; (of insults, orders) → caterva, sfilza
the flow of traffic → la circolazione

2. vi (gen) → fluire; (tide) → salire; (blood in veins, traffic) → circolare; (hair) → ricadere (morbidamente), scendere
money flowed in (fig) → i soldi sono arrivati in grande quantità
the river flows into the sea → il fiume sfocia nel mare
to keep the conversation flowing → mantenere viva la conversazione

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

flow

(fləu) verb

1. to move along in the way that water does. The river flowed into the sea. vloei يَتَدَفَّق тека correr téci fließen løbe; strømme κυλώ, ρέω, χύνομαιfluir voolama جریان داشتن virrata couler לִזרוֹם बहना, सरकना teci, izlijevati se folyik mengalir renna, flæða, streyma fluire 流れる (강, 물, 액체가) 흐르다 tekėti tecēt; plūst mengalir stromenrenne, strømme, flytepłynąć روانیدل correr a curge впадать tiecť teči teći rinna, strömma, flyta น้ำไหล akmak 流動 текти; литися پانی کے ہمراح جانا chảy 流动

2. (of the tide) to rise. The boat left the harbour when the tide began to flow. stygende gety يَرْتَفِع прииждам subir stoupat steigen rejse sig ανεβαίνωsubir tõusma بالا آمدن nousta monter לַעֲלוֹת चढ़ना nadirati, dolaziti (plima) árad naik flæða að salire 満ちる (조수가) 밀려오다 kilti (par paisumu) celties air pasang opkomenstige przybierać توییدل subir a se umfla подниматься stúpať plimovati nadolaziti stiga น้ำขึ้น yükselmek 漲(潮) приливати لہروں کا چڑھنا lên (thuỷ triều) （潮）涨

noun

the act of flowing. a flow of blood; the flow of traffic. vloei تَدَفُّق приток corrente proud, tok das Fließen strøm ροήcorriente, flujo, circulación vool جریان virtaus circulationזרימה बहाव, धारा, धारा प्रवाह tok, struja áramlás aliran straumur, flaumur flusso 流れ (액체, 기체, 전기 등의) 흐름 tekėjimas, srautas tecēšana; plūšana; plūdums; plūsma; straume pengaliran stroomflyt, strømmingstrumień, prąd جریان corrente circulaţie поток tok; cirkulácia; prúd tok protok ström, rinnande, flöde การไหล akış, akma 流動 течія, потік بہنے کا عمل sự chảy; dòng lưu thông 流动

ˈflow chart noun

a chart describing the stages of a process. vloeikaart جَدْول فَيْضي: جَدْوَل يُصَوِّر مراحِل العَمَلِيَّه таблица, описваща етапи gráfico de fluxo vývojový/postupový diagram der Flow-Chart procesdiagram; arbejdsdiagram διάγραμμα ροής organigrama vooskeem نمودار گردش کار vuokaavio organigramme טָבלַת זְרִימָה फ्लो चार्ट blok-shema, dijagram toka, hodogram folyamatábra diagram arus organigramma 流れ作業図 흐름 도표 proceso diagrama (procesa) diagramma carta alir stroomschema produksjonsplan/-diagram schemat blokowy چارټ.د توليد د ارګانونو چارت диаграмма postupový diagram diagram poteka dijagram toka flödesschema, -diagram แผนผังแสดงการดำเนินการในแต่ละกระบวนการ izlem 流程圖 схема виробничого процесу نقل و حرکت کا نقشہ biểu đồ phát triển 流程图

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

flow

→ يَتَدَفَّقُ proudit strømme fließen κυλώ fluir virrata couler teći scorrere 流れる 흐르다 stromen strømme popłynąć fluir течь flyta ไหล akmak chảy 流动

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

flow

n. flujo, salida; riego; [menstrual] pop. pérdida;

v. fluir; correr; derramar;

blood ___ → riego sanguíneo;

laminar ___ → ___ laminar;

turbulent ___ → ___ turbulento;

___ rate → indice de ___.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

flow

n flujo; blood — flujo sanguíneo or de la sangre; menstrual — flujo menstrual; peak — (spirometry) flujo máximo; vi fluir

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.