Flushing
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The act by which something is flushed. countable, uncountable
"We tried to repair the toilet, but it broke again after two or three flushings."
- 2 A heavy, coarse cloth manufactured from shoddy. UK, countable, uncountable
- 3 Rushing of blood to the skin's surface, especially on the face, as happens under various physiological circumstances (e.g., in embarrassment or stress or during menopause). countable, uncountable
- 4 A surface formed of floating threads. countable, uncountable
- 1 present participle and gerund of flush form-of, gerund, participle, present
- 1 A coastal village in Mylor parish, Cornwall, England, across the river from Falmouth (OS grid ref SW8134).
- 2 The town of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. dated
"An example of this was the hourly fast train from Amsterdam via Rotterdam to Eindhoven and Venlo, which used to be combined on the section from Amsterdam to Rotterdam with a stopping train to Flushing."
- 3 A township and city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States.
- 4 A township and village therein, in Belmont County, Ohio, United States.
- 5 A place in New Netherland, particularly, the New Amsterdam area.; A neighborhood of Queens, New York, New York, United States.
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- 6 A place in New Netherland, particularly, the New Amsterdam area.; A bay of Queens, New York, New York, United States; in full, Flushing Bay.
- 7 A place in New Netherland, particularly, the New Amsterdam area.; A river in Queens, New York, New York, United States; in full, Flushing River.
Example
More examples""Don't you think it's a cruel, barbarous thing to whip a child . . . ANY child?" exclaimed Anne, her face flushing with earnestness."
Etymology
From Middle English flusshyng, flusshynge, equivalent to flush + -ing.
Named after the dated anglicized Dutch city name Flushing (“Vlissingen”) where the wool was made, from Dutch Vlissingen, further etymology is uncertain.
From flush + -ing.
From Dutch Vlissingen.
Related phrases
More for "flushing"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.