flow
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: flō
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfləʊ̯/, /ˈflɵ̞ʊ̯/Category:English 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:English 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
- (General American, Standard Canadian) IPA(key): /ˈfloʊ̯/, /ˈflɔʊ̯/Category:English 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:English 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
- (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈfləʉ̯/, /ˈflɐʉ̯/Category:English 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:English 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
- Rhymes: -əʊCategory:Rhymes:English/əʊ#FLOWCategory:Rhymes:English/əʊ/1 syllable#FLOW
- Homophones: floe, FloCategory:English terms with homophones#FLOW
- Hyphenation: flow
Etymology 1
From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#FLOWCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#FLOW flowe, from the verb (see below). The psychology sense “state of focus” was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975.

Noun
flow (countable and uncountable, plural flows)Category:English lemmas#FLOWCategory:English nouns#FLOWCategory:English uncountable nouns#FLOWCategory:English countable nouns#FLOWCategory:English countable nouns#FLOWCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.
- The movement of a real or figurative fluid.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 48:
- Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (mathematicsCategory:en:Mathematics#FLOW) A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set.
- The notion of flow is basic to the study of ordinary differential equations.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- The rising movement of the tide.
- Smoothness or continuity.
- The room was small, but it had good symmetry and flow.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement.
- Turn on the valve and make sure you have sufficient flow.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- Other devices measure water flow in streams fed by melted ice.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant).
- (psychologyCategory:en:Psychology#FLOW) A mental state characterized by concentration, focus, and enjoyment of a given task.
- 2014 January 14, Alex Lockwood, “How to achieve a state of flow when running”, in The Guardian:
- The point about flow is that it is enjoyable. As research has shown "the more often athletes experienced flow, the happier they were." But the second is that entering flow actually improves performance.Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- The emission of blood during menstruation.
- Tampons can be small or large, slender or thick. From “slender” to “super”, you can pick the size that matches your flow.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- (rap musicCategory:en:Music#FLOW jargon) The ability to skillfully rap along to a beat.
- The production on his new mixtape is mediocre but his flow is on point.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- 2003, “In da Club”, in Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent:
- Now shawty said she feelin' my style, she feelin' my flow […] / My flow, my show brought me the dough / That bought me all my fancy thingsCategory:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (softwareCategory:en:Software#FLOW) The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action.
- login flowCategory:English terms with collocations#FLOW
- search flowCategory:English terms with collocations#FLOW
- 2015, Dan, “Best practices for tracking progress through a sign up flow”, in snowplow-user mailing list:
- I'm setting up event tracking for a pretty standard, multi-step signup flow, and I'm wondering [...]Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
Synonyms
- (continuity): See also Thesaurus:continuity
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “movement of the tide”): ebb
- (antonym(s) of “continuity”): See also Thesaurus:discontinuity
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- adjusted flow time
- aflow
- afterflow
- air flow
- ashflow
- autoflow
- backflow
- baseflow
- blood flow
- byflow
- cash flow
- cerebral blood flow
- coflow
- conflow
- contraflow
- control-flow graph
- counterflow
- crossflow
- data flow
- data flow diagram
- deflow
- earthflow
- ebb and flow
- Fanno flow
- floodflow
- flowability
- flowage
- flowant
- flow art
- flow arts
- flow battery
- flow blue
- flow cell
- flowchart
- flow chart
- flow control
- flow cytometer
- flowcytometric
- flow cytometry
- flow diagram
- flower
- flow field
- flowgram
- flowgraph
- flowgraphy
- flowless
- flowlike
- flowline
- flowmap
- flowmeter
- flowmetric
- flowmotion
- flow motion
- flow network
- flow-on
- flow-on effect
- flow on effect
- flowpath
- flow production
- flow rate
- flowrate
- flow sheet
- flowsheet
- flowsnake
- flow state
- flowstone
- flow stress
- flowthrough
- flowtime
- flowtop
- flow tracer
- flow variable
- flowy
- foreflow
- free cash flow
- freeflow
- gene flow
- geneflow
- go with the flow
- go with the flow of traffic
- grainflow
- Hubble flow
- hyperflow
- hyperpycnal flow
- (poker) in flow
- in full flow
- interflow
- isentropic flow
- isocratic flow
- jet flow
- Knudsen flow
- laminar flow
- laminar flow hood
- lateral flow test
- lineflow
- mass flow
- microflow
- mindflow
- mudflow
- multiflow
- nanoflow
- newsflow
- nonflow
- off-flow
- only dead fish go with the flow
- overflow
- page flow
- peak flow
- peak flow meter
- plastic flow
- pyroclastic flow
- rainflow
- return flow
- Ricci flow
- semiflow
- sheet flow
- single-flow
- slushflow
- stemflow
- stormflow
- streamflow
- superflow
- throughflow
- transverse flow effect
- turbulent flow
- uniflow
- uroflow
- wake flow
- waterflow
- water flow
- wordflow
- workflow
Translations
Category:Entries with translation boxes#FLOW
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Further reading
flow on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Flow (psychology) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Etymology 2
From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#FLOWCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#FLOW flowen, from Old EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#FLOWCategory:English terms derived from Old English#FLOW flōwan (“to flow”), from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic#FLOWCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#FLOW *flōan, from Proto-GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic#FLOWCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Germanic#FLOW *flōaną (“to flow”), from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#FLOW *plōw-, lengthened o-grade form of *plew- (“to fly, flow, run”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian flouje (“to flow”), West Frisian floeie (“to flow”), Dutch vloeien (“to flow”), Norwegian flo (“to flow”). Compare also English float. Not cognate with Latin fluō despite similarity.
Verb
flow (third-person singular simple present flows, present participle flowing, simple past and past participle flowed)Category:English lemmas#FLOWCategory:English verbs#FLOWCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To move as a fluid from one position to another.
- Rivers flow from springs and lakes.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- Tears flow from the eyes.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC:
- Wrex: I need to get my blood flowing. Find me something to kill!Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To proceed; to issue forth; to emanate.
- Wealth flows from industry and economy.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature Ee, verso, lines 1238–1239:
- Thoſe thouſand decencies that daily flow ¶ From all her words and actions, mixt with LoveCategory:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously.
- The writing is grammatically correct, but it just doesn't flow.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- 1697, Virgil, “Dedication”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page [183]:
- […] Virgil, […] is […] ſweet and flowing in his Hexameters.Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joel 3:18–18, signature Ffff3, verso, columns 1–2:
- […] in that day, that […] the hils ſhall flow with milke, […] a fountaine ſhall come forth of the houſe of the Lord, […]Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- New International Version translation: “In that day […] the hills will flow with milk; […] A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house […]
- 1844, John Wilson, Essay on the Genius, and Character of Burns:
- the exhilaration of a night that needed not the influence of the flowing bowlCategory:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To hang loosely and wave.
- a flowing mantleCategory:English terms with collocations#FLOW
- flowing locksCategory:English terms with collocations#FLOW
- 1788, Publius [pseudonym; Alexander Hamilton], “Number LXVII. Concerning the Conſtitution of the Preſident: A groſs Attempt to miſrepreſent this Part of the Plan detected..”, in The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, […] , volume II, New York, N.Y.: […] J. and A. M‘Lean, […], →OCLC, page 222:
- […] the imperial purple flowing in his train.Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb.
- Synonyms: come in, come up
- The tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.Category:English terms with usage examples#FLOW
- c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], page 93, column 2, line 125:
- The Riuer hath thrice flow’d, no ebbe betweene:Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- The river hath thrice flow’d, no ebb between;
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FLOW, computingCategory:en:Computing#FLOW) To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow.
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FLOW) To allow (a liquid) to flow.
- 1932, Carl Ernest Reistle, Paraffin and Congealing-Oil Problems, volumes 340-349, page 45:
- The action is usually progressive, and as a certain amount of oil is flowed from the tubing it lowers the pressure on the remaining oil and liberates more gas, thus causing additional oil to flow from the tubing.Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FLOW) To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#FLOW) To cover with varnish.
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#FLOW) To discharge excessive blood from the uterus.
Derived terms
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Category:Entries with translation boxes#FLOW
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Etymology 3
UncertainCategory:English terms with unknown etymologies#FLOW. Perhaps from Old Norse flói (“a large bay, firth”), see floe. Compare Scots flow (“peat-bog, marsh”), Icelandic flói (“marshy ground”).
Noun
flow (plural flows)Category:English lemmas#FLOWCategory:English nouns#FLOWCategory:English countable nouns#FLOWCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- (ScotlandCategory:Scottish English#FLOW) A bog or mire, especially a rough, waterlogged one.
- 1794, John Sinclair, The Statistical Account of Scotland, volume 10, page 328:
- […] there are other extensive mosses in this district, commonly called flowes, which it is not probable ever will, or ever can be, converted into arable land. Some of these flowes are found to be 20, 25, or 30 feet deep, and are, besides, such a dead level, that the water has little or no descent; and even supposing they should be cast, or burnt to the bottom, standing pools of dirty water could only stand in their place.Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- 1871, Alexander Boswell, Poetical Works, page 213:
- Ye'll stick in some flow, Or, ye'll melt in a thowCategory:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- 1895, Crockett, Moss-Hags page xlii:
- Had been roughly laid with bog-wood dug from the flowes,
- 1896, Proudlock, Borderland Muse, page 8:
- Dandering o'er ferney knowes, [...] Springing o'er bogs an' flowes, [...]Category:English terms with quotations#FLOW
- 1898 July 23, Shetland News, quoted in the EDD:
- If dey wirna a day apo' da flow dan he [it] wis nae man's bishaness.
Derived terms
References
- “flow, n.2.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000. - “flow, v., n.1”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
- Joseph Wright, editor (1900), “FLOW”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume II (D–G), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC. (suggests the origin is Norwegian dialectal floe "pool of water in swampy ground; swamp")
Further reading
- “flow”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Category:en:Liquids#FLOWCategory:en:Wetlands#FLOWDutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /floː/Category:Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#FLOWAudio: (file) - Hyphenation: flow
Etymology 1
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from English#FLOWCategory:Dutch unadapted borrowings from English#FLOWCategory:Dutch terms derived from English#FLOW flow.
Noun
flow f or m (plural flows, no diminutive)Category:Dutch lemmas#FLOWCategory:Dutch nouns#FLOWCategory:Dutch nouns with f+m gender#FLOWCategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -s#FLOWCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Dutch feminine nouns#FLOWCategory:Dutch masculine nouns#FLOWCategory:Dutch nouns with multiple genders#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- (musicCategory:nl:Music#FLOW) rhythm, flow of music (particularly in jazz)
- Het duurde een paar nummers, maar toen de drummer eenmaal op gang kwam kreeg Baba Commandant de flow die essentieel is in afrobeat.
- It took a few songs, but once the drummer got going, Baba Commandant got the rhythm that is essential in Afrobeat.
- (musicCategory:nl:Music#FLOW) flow (ability to skilfully rap)
- Snoop rapt met zijn vertrouwd achteloze flow.
- Snoop raps with his familiar casual flow.
- (psychologyCategory:nl:Psychology#FLOW) flow (mental state characterized by concentration, focus, and enjoyment of a given task)
- Je lichaam maakt onder stress extra adrenaline aan, waardoor je in een flow raakt. Dat kan goed zijn voor je concentratie.
- Your body produces extra adrenaline under stress, which puts you in a flow. This can be good for your concentration.
- streak of successes
- Roger Federer verloor op de Australian Open kansloos van Novak Djokovic. De flow die de Zwitser ooit had lijkt doorbroken.
- Roger Federer lost to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open without a chance. The streak that the Swiss once had seems to have been broken.
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
flowCategory:Dutch non-lemma forms#FLOWCategory:Dutch verb forms#FLOWCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- inflection of flowen:
Further reading
- “flow” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]
French
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#FLOWCategory:French unadapted borrowings from English#FLOWCategory:French terms derived from English#FLOW flow.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /flo/Category:French 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#FLOWAudio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#FLOWAudio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#FLOWAudio (France (Somain)): (file) - Hyphenation: flow
Noun
flow m (plural flows)Category:French lemmas#FLOWCategory:French nouns#FLOWCategory:French countable nouns#FLOWCategory:French terms spelled with W#FLOWCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:French masculine nouns#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- (musicCategory:fr:Music#FLOW) flow
- flow (style)
Polish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English flow.
Category:Polish terms borrowed from English#FLOW%7CFLOWCategory:Polish terms derived from English#FLOW%7CFLOWCategory:Polish terms derived from English#FLOWCategory:Polish unadapted borrowings from English#FLOW%7CFLOWCategory:Polish entries referencing missing etymons#FLOWCategory:Pages with etymology trees#FLOWCategory:Polish entries with etymology trees#FLOWCategory:Polish entries with etymology texts#FLOWCategory:Pages using etymon with no ID#FLOWPronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈflɔw/, /ˈflɔ/Category:Polish 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:Polish 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
- Rhymes: -ɔw, -ɔCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔw#FLOWCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔw/1 syllable#FLOWCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔ#FLOWCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔ/1 syllable#FLOW
- Syllabification: flow
Noun
flow m inan or n (indeclinable)Category:Polish lemmas#FLOWCategory:Polish nouns#FLOWCategory:Polish indeclinable nouns#FLOWCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Polish masculine nouns#FLOWCategory:Polish inanimate nouns#FLOWCategory:Polish neuter nouns#FLOWCategory:Polish nouns with multiple genders#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW (colloquialCategory:Polish colloquialisms#FLOW, uncountableCategory:Polish uncountable nouns#FLOW)
- (rap musicCategory:pl:Music#FLOW jargon) flow (the ability to skillfully rap along to a beat)
- (psychologyCategory:pl:Psychology#FLOW) flow (a mental state characterized by concentration, focus, and enjoyment of a given task)
- Synonym: przepływ
- złapać flow ― to catch flowCategory:Polish terms with collocations#FLOW
- flow (smoothness or continuity)
- Czy był flow na callu? ― Was there good flow on the call?Category:Polish terms with usage examples#FLOW
Derived terms
- mieć flow impf
Related terms
Further reading
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English flow.
Category:Portuguese terms derived from English#FLOW%7CFLOWCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from English#FLOW%7CFLOWCategory:Portuguese entries referencing missing etymons#FLOWCategory:Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English#FLOW%7CFLOWCategory:Portuguese terms derived from English#FLOWCategory:Portuguese entries with etymology texts#FLOWCategory:Pages using etymon with no ID#FLOWPronunciation
- Hyphenation: flow
Noun
flow m (plural flows)Category:Portuguese lemmas#FLOWCategory:Portuguese nouns#FLOWCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#FLOWCategory:Portuguese terms spelled with W#FLOWCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- (colloquialCategory:Portuguese colloquialisms#FLOW) flow (the ability to rap skillfully)
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from English#FLOWCategory:Spanish unadapted borrowings from English#FLOWCategory:Spanish terms derived from English#FLOW flow.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈflou/ [ˈflou̯]Category:Spanish 1-syllable words#FLOWCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#FLOW
- Rhymes: -ouCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/ou#FLOWCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/ou/1 syllable#FLOW
- Syllabification: flow
Noun
flow m (plural flows)Category:Spanish lemmas#FLOWCategory:Spanish nouns#FLOWCategory:Spanish countable nouns#FLOWCategory:Spanish terms spelled with W#FLOWCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#FLOWCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#FLOWCategory:Pages with entries#FLOWCategory:Pages with 6 entries#FLOW
- (colloquialCategory:Spanish colloquialisms#FLOW) flow (the ability to rap skillfully)
- (colloquialCategory:Spanish colloquialisms#FLOW, uncommonCategory:Spanish terms with uncommon senses#FLOW) flow (as in go with the flow)
- ir con el flow ― go with the flowCategory:Spanish terms with collocations#FLOW
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
