flow

/floʊ/

/fləʊ/

Other forms: flowing; flowed; flows

The word flow has many shades of meaning but most involve the steady movement of something. Water can flow in a river, electricity can flow through a wire, and talk might also flow as you sit and chat with friends.

The verb flow often describes the movement of fluids, such as water or even blood, but it can also describe other things that move in a constant stream. When you get that high-paying job, money might flow into your bank account. Until then, offers for help might flow in when you need to pay your credit card bill. Flow has a noun form as well. You might watch the flow of traffic on the street.

Definitions of flow

1. verb

   move along, of liquids
   “Water flowed into the cave”

   synonyms: course, feed, run

   types:

   flush

   flow freely

   gush, jet

   issue in a jet; come out in a jet; stream or spring forth

   surge, tide

   rise or move forward

   circulate

   move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point

   eddy, purl, swirl, whirl, whirlpool

   flow in a circular current, of liquids

   run off, waste

   run off as waste

   run down

   move downward

   pour

   flow in a spurt

   run out, spill

   flow, run or fall out and become lost

   stream, well out

   flow freely and abundantly

   dribble, filter, trickle

   run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream

   drain, run out

   flow off gradually

   ooze, seep

   pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings

   gutter

   flow in small streams

   flush down, wash down

   flow freely

   ventilate

   circulate through and freshen

   spin

   stream in jets, of liquids

   gush, spirt, spout, spurt

   gush forth in a sudden stream or jet

   regurgitate

   pour or rush back

   leach, percolate

   permeate or penetrate gradually

   brim over, overflow, overrun, run over, well over

   flow or run over (a limit or brim)

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
2. verb

   move or progress freely as if in a stream
   “The crowd flowed out of the stadium”

   synonyms: flux

   types:

   cockle, riffle, ripple, ruffle, undulate

   stir up (water) so as to form ripples

   transpirate, transpire

   pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
3. verb

   fall or flow in a certain way
   “Her long black hair flowed down her back”

   synonyms: fall, hang
4. verb

   cause to flow
   “The artist flowed the washes on the paper”
5. noun

   the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)
   synonyms: flowing

   types:

   fountain, jet

   an artificially produced flow of water

   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

   current, stream

   a steady flow of a fluid (usually from natural causes)

   freshet, spate

   the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow

   overflow, overspill, runoff

   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)

   discharge, outpouring, run

   the pouring forth of a fluid

   flux, fluxion

   a flow or discharge

   ooze, oozing, seepage

   the slow escape of liquid or gas through small holes

   dribble, drip, trickle

   flowing in drops; the formation and falling of drops of liquid

   emission

   the occurrence of a flow of water (as from a pipe)

   flush, gush, outpouring

   a sudden rapid flow (as of water)

   rush, spate, surge, upsurge

   a sudden forceful flow

   tidal current, tidal flow

   the water current caused by the tides

   rip current, riptide

   a strong surface current flowing outwards from a shore

   undercurrent, undertide

   a current below the surface of a fluid

   regurgitation

   backflow of blood through a defective heart valve

   torrent, violent stream

   a violently fast stream of water (or other liquid)

   exudation, transudation

   the process of exuding; the slow escape of liquids from blood vessels through pores or breaks in the cell membranes

   intravenous drip

   slow continuous drip introducing solutions intravenously (a drop at a time)

   eddy, twist

   a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind resulting when the current of a fluid doubles back on itself

   maelstrom, vortex, whirlpool

   a powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides)

   jet, spirt, spurt, squirt

   the occurrence of a sudden discharge (as of liquid)

   escape, leak, leakage, outflow

   the discharge of a fluid from some container

   debris storm, debris surge

   the sudden spread of dust and debris from a collapsing building

   onrush

   a forceful forward rush or flow

   springtide

   a swelling rush of anything

   ocean current

   the steady flow of surface ocean water in a prevailing direction

   type of:

   change of location, travel

   a movement through space that changes the location of something
6. noun

   the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression
   synonyms: stream

   types:

   release, spill, spillage

   the act of allowing a fluid to escape

   flood, outpouring, overflow

   a large flow

   effusion

   flow under pressure

   type of:

   motion, move, movement

   the act of changing location from one place to another
7. noun

   any uninterrupted stream or discharge
   types:

   airstream, backwash, race, slipstream, 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)

   inflow, influx

   the process of flowing in

   effluence, efflux, outflow

   the process of flowing out

   sea

   turbulent water with swells of considerable size

   laminar flow

   nonturbulent streamline flow in parallel layers (laminae)

   inpour, inpouring, inrush

   an inflow

   refilling, renewal, replacement, replenishment

   filling again by supplying what has been used up

   type of:

   action, activity, natural action, natural process

   a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings)
8. noun

   something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously
   “the museum had planned carefully for the flow of visitors”

   synonyms: stream

   type of:

   motion

   a state of change
9. noun

   the amount of fluid that flows in a given time
   synonyms: flow rate, rate of flow

   types:

   cardiac output

   the amount of blood pumped out by the ventricles in a given period of time

   type of:

   rate

   a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
10. noun

    dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas
    “the flow of thought”

    synonyms: current, stream

    type of:

    course, line, trajectory

    a connected series of events or actions or developments
11. verb

    be abundantly present
    type of:

    be, exist

    have an existence, be extant
12. verb

    cover or swamp with water
    types:

    lap, lave, wash

    wash or flow against

    type of:

    flood

    cover with liquid, usually water
13. verb

    undergo menstruation
    synonyms: menstruate

    type of:

    bleed, hemorrhage, shed blood

    lose blood from one's body
14. noun

    the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause
    synonyms: catamenia, menses, menstruation, menstruum, period

    types:

    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

    type of:

    discharge, emission, expelling

    any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body