flush 1
(flŭsh)v. flushed, flush·ing, flush·es
v.intr.1. To turn red, as from fever, embarrassment, or strong emotion; blush.
2. To glow, especially with a reddish color: The sky flushed pink at dawn.
3. To flow suddenly and abundantly, as from containment; flood.
4. To be emptied or cleaned by a rapid flow of water, as a toilet.
v.tr.1. To cause to redden or glow.
2. To excite or elate: The team was flushed with the success of victory.
3. a. To clean, rinse, or empty with a rapid flow of a liquid, especially water: flush a toilet; flush a wound with iodine.
b. To drive away with a rapid flow of a liquid: flush debris from a pipe.
c. To remove or eliminate: "The weakness in demand and productivity will at least ... flush out some of the inflation premium that has been built into interest rates" (Fortune).
n.1. a. A flooding flow or rush, as of water.
b. The act of cleaning or rinsing by or as if by flushing.
2. A blush or glow: "here and there a flush of red on the lip of a little cloud" (Willa Cather).
3. a. A reddening of the skin, as with fever, emotion, or exertion.
b. A brief sensation of heat over all or part of the body.
4. A rush of strong feeling: a flush of pride.
5. A state of great vigor or development. See Synonyms at
bloom1.
adj. flush·er,
flush·est 1. Having a healthy reddish color; flushed.
2. a. Having an abundant supply of something, especially money: a business that is flush with profits; a crowd that was flush with excitement.
b. Marked by abundance; plentiful: flush times resulting from the oil boom.
3. a. Having surfaces in the same plane; even.
b. Arranged with adjacent sides, surfaces, or edges close together:
a sofa flush against the wall. See Synonyms at
level.
c. Printing Aligned evenly with a margin, as along the left or right edge of a typeset page; not indented.
4. Direct, straightforward, or solid: knocked out by a flush blow to the jaw.
5. Designed to be emptied or cleaned by flushing: a flush toilet.
adv.1. So as to be even, in one plane, or aligned with a margin.
2. Squarely or solidly: The ball hit him flush on the face.
[Probably from
flush,
to dart out.]
flush′er n.
flush′ness n.
flush 2
(flŭsh)n. Games A hand in which all the cards are of the same suit but not in numerical sequence, ranked above a straight and below a full house in poker.
[French flux, flus, from Old French flux, from Latin flūxus, flux; see flux.]
flush 3
(flŭsh)v. flushed, flush·ing, flush·es
v.tr.1. To frighten (a game bird, for example) from cover.
2. To drive or force into the open: The police fired tear gas to flush out the terrorists.
v.intr. To dart out or fly from cover.
n. A bird or flock of birds that has been frightened from cover.
[Middle English flusshen.]
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.