Definition of "flow"

flow¹

/fləʊ/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural flows
1. Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.
2. The movement of a real or figurative fluid.
  Quotations
  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.
  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.
3. (mathematics) A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set.
4. The rising movement of the tide.
5. Smoothness or continuity.
6. The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement.
7. A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant).
8. (psychology) A mental state characterized by concentration, focus and enjoyment of a given task.
  Quotations
  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.
  2014 January 14, Alex Lockwood, “How to achieve a state of flow when running”, in The Guardian‎
9. The emission of blood during menstruation.
10. (rap music slang) The ability to skilfully rap along to a beat.
  Quotations
  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 things
  2003, “In da Club”, in Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent
11. (software) The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action.
  Quotations
  I'm setting up event tracking for a pretty standard, multi-step signup flow, and I'm wondering [...]
  2015, Dan, “Best practices for tracking progress through a sign up flow”, in snowplow-user mailing list‎

flow²

/fləʊ/

verb
third-person singular simple present flows, present participle flowing, simple past and past participle flowed
1. (intransitive) To move as a fluid from one position to another.
  Quotations
  Wrex: I need to get my blood flowing. Find me something to kill!
  2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC
2. (intransitive) To proceed; to issue forth.
  Quotations
  Those thousand decencies that daily flow / From all her words and actions.
  1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
3. (intransitive) To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously.
  Quotations
  Virgil […] is […] sweet and flowing in his hexameters.
  1697, Virgil, “Dedication”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]
4. (intransitive) To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over.
  Quotations
  […] in that day […] the hils shall flow with milke […]
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Joel 3:18
  the exhilaration of a night that needed not the influence of the flowing bowl
  1845, John Wilson, The Genius and Character of Robert Burns
5. (intransitive) To hang loosely and wave.
  Quotations
  […] the imperial purple flowing in his train.
  1788, Publius [pseudonym; Alexander Hamilton], “Number LXVII”, 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, […], page 222
6. (intransitive) To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb.
  Quotations
  The river hath thrice flowed, no ebb between.
  c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene iii]
7. (transitive, computing) To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow.
8. (transitive) To allow (a liquid) to flow.
  Quotations
  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.
  1932, Carl Ernest Reistle, Paraffin and Congealing-Oil Problems, volumes 340-349, page 45
9. (transitive) To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.
10. (transitive) To cover with varnish.
11. (intransitive) To discharge excessive blood from the uterus.

flow³

/fləʊ/

noun
plural flows
1. (Scotland) A morass or marsh.

Definition of "flow"

flow1

noun

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

flow2

verb

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

flow3

noun

flow¹

flow²

flow³