What does "flour" mean?
Powder obtained by grinding or milling cereal grains, especially wheat, or other foodstuffs such as soybeans and potatoes, and used to bake bread, cakes, and pastry.
Flour
/ˈflaʊ̯.ɚ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Powder obtained by grinding or milling cereal grains, especially wheat, or other foodstuffs such as soybeans and potatoes, and used to bake bread, cakes, and pastry.
- Grammar: flour is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abrade, air pollution, alabaster, atomize.
- Useful contrasts: grease, oil.
- Usage evidence: Bread is made from flour, water and yeast.
How to use "flour"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flour" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flour" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flour" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flour" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flour" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abrade" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flour", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Powder obtained by grinding or milling cereal grains, especially wheat, or other foodstuffs such as soybeans and potatoes, and used to bake bread, cakes, and pastry. uncountable, usually
"Everything a living animal could do to destroy and to desecrate bed and walls had been done. […] A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe."
- 2 fine powdery foodstuff obtained by grinding and sifting the meal of a cereal grain wordnet
- 3 The food made by grinding and bolting cleaned wheat (not durum or red durum) until it meets specified levels of fineness, dryness, and freedom from bran and germ, also containing any of certain enzymes, ascorbic acid, and certain bleaching agents. uncountable, usually
- 4 Powder of other material. uncountable, usually
"mustard flour"
- 5 Obsolete form of flower. alt-of, obsolete, uncountable, usually
"that nobody is wished to see my dead body. & that no murnurs walk behind me at my funeral. & that no flours be planted on my grave."
Verb
- 1 To apply flour to something; to cover with flour. transitive
- 2 convert grain into flour wordnet
- 3 To reduce to flour. transitive
- 4 cover with flour wordnet
- 5 To break up into fine globules of mercury in the amalgamation process. intransitive
Example
"Bread is made from flour, water and yeast."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flour"?
Common synonyms include: abrade, air pollution, alabaster, atomize, attritus, beat.
How do you use "flour" in a sentence?
Bread is made from flour, water and yeast.
How do you pronounce "flour"?
Pronounced /ˈflaʊ̯.ɚ/.
Etymology
Spelled (until about 1830) and meaning flower in the sense of flour being the "finest portion of ground grain" (compare French fleur de farine, fine fleur). Doublet of fleur, flor, and flower. Partially displaced native meal. The U.S. standard of identity comes from 21CFR137.105.