What does "flow" mean?
Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.
Flow
/fləʊ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.
- Grammar: flow is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: course, current, flux, run.
- Useful contrasts: blocked state, chronic stasis, extended pause.
- Usage evidence: There is a constant flow of traffic on this road.
How to use "flow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flow" 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 "flow" 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 "flow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flow" 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 "flow" 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 "course" 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 "flow", 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 Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude. countable, uncountable
- 2 A bog or mire, especially a rough, waterlogged one. Scotland
"[…] 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."
- 3 the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression wordnet
- 4 The movement of a real or figurative fluid. countable, uncountable
"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."
- 5 the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases) wordnet
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set. countable, uncountable
"The notion of flow is basic to the study of ordinary differential equations."
- 7 dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas wordnet
- 8 The rising movement of the tide. countable, uncountable
- 9 any uninterrupted stream or discharge wordnet
- 10 Smoothness or continuity. countable, uncountable
"The room was small, but it had good symmetry and flow."
- 11 the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause wordnet
- 12 The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement. countable, uncountable
"Turn on the valve and make sure you have sufficient flow."
- 13 something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously wordnet
- 14 A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant). countable, uncountable
- 15 the amount of fluid that flows in a given time wordnet
- 16 A mental state characterized by concentration, focus and enjoyment of a given task. countable, uncountable
"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."
- 17 The emission of blood during menstruation. countable, uncountable
"Tampons can be small or large, slender or thick. From “slender” to “super”, you can pick the size that matches your flow."
- 18 The ability to skilfully rap along to a beat. countable, uncountable
"The production on his new mixtape is mediocre but his flow is on point."
- 19 The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action. countable, uncountable
"login flow"
Verb
- 1 To move as a fluid from one position to another. intransitive
"Rivers flow from springs and lakes."
- 2 undergo menstruation wordnet
- 3 To proceed; to issue forth; to emanate. intransitive
"Wealth flows from industry and economy."
- 4 cover or swamp with water wordnet
- 5 To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously. intransitive
"The writing is grammatically correct, but it just doesn't flow."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 fall or flow in a certain way wordnet
- 7 To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over. intransitive
"[…] in that day[…] the hils shall flow with milke[…]"
- 8 move or progress freely as if in a stream wordnet
- 9 To hang loosely and wave. intransitive
"a flowing mantle"
- 10 move along, of liquids wordnet
- 11 To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb. intransitive
"The tide flows twice in twenty-four hours."
- 12 cause to flow wordnet
- 13 To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow. transitive
- 14 be abundantly present wordnet
- 15 To allow (a liquid) to flow. transitive
"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."
- 16 To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood. transitive
- 17 To cover with varnish. transitive
- 18 To discharge excessive blood from the uterus. intransitive
Antonyms
blocked statechronic stasisextended pauseshort-term immobility
Example
"There is a constant flow of traffic on this road."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flow"?
Common synonyms include: course, current, flux, run, stream, abound.
How do you use "flow" in a sentence?
There is a constant flow of traffic on this road.
How do you pronounce "flow"?
Pronounced /fləʊ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English flowe, from the verb (see below). The psychology sense “state of focus” was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975.
Etymology 2
From Middle English flowen, from Old English flōwan (“to flow”), from Proto-West Germanic *flōan, from Proto-Germanic *flōaną (“to flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *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.
Etymology 3
Uncertain. Perhaps from Old Norse flói (“a large bay, firth”), see floe. Compare Scots flow (“peat-bog, marsh”), Icelandic flói (“marshy ground”).