780
in a heavy or awkward
way, without control ( ffijr, 1&&: Her hair flopped over her eyes. MW 7 BIB# „ 0 The
young man flopped back,
unconscious, A# ffi$J
T,
A % A ♦ o o The
fish were flopping around in the bottom of the boat. c 3 (informal) to be a
complete failure ® The play flopped on
Broadway.
■
noun a film/movie, play,
party, etc. that is not
successful ( EQ2
hit — see also bellyflop
flop-house /'flDphaus;
NAmE '
= DOSSHOUSE
floppy /'flopi;
NAmE 'flaipi/ adj. (flop-pier,
flop-piest) hanging
or falling loosely; not hard and stiff feffcT H
W; telfcM:
a
floppy hat
.floppy 'disk (also floppy pi. -ies) (also diskette) noun a flat disk inside a plastic cover, that is used to
store data in the form that a computer can read, and that can be removed from
the computer
—
picture c> page R5
—
compare hard disk
flora /'floira/
noun [U] (technical 7ft i§) the plants of a
particular area, type of environment or period of time ( ) m.®m: alpine flora
0 rare species of flora and fauna (= plants and animals)
floral /'floral/
adj. [usually before noun] 1 consisting
of pictures of flowers; decorated with pictures of flowers ^fefe^J; IM & W: wallpaper with a floral design/ pattern fefefem^^^ 0 a floral dress
2
made of flowers : a floral arrangement/ display Wife; feM 0 Floral tributes were sent to the
church. mm#>#fe
flor-en-tine /'flDrantain;
-ti:n; NAmE 'fbranti:n; -tm/ adj., noun
a adj. (of food #!$j) served
on spinach ( eggs florentine
mnoun a biscuit/cookie
containing nuts and fruit, half covered in chocolate (
floret /'flDrat;
NAmE 'flo:-; '
PAGE
R18
floribunda /.flori'bAnda;
NAmE ,flo:r-/ noun (technical 7^-©) a plant, especially a rose, with flowers that grow very close
together in groups £fe$L$}-, (
Xte ) &fe
florid /'florid;
NAmE ’flo:-; '
$J Wills ► florid ly adv.
florin /'florin;
NAmE 'flo:-; '
10fc±)
florist /'florist; NAmE 'flo:-; 'fla:-/ noun 1 a
person who owns or works in a shop/store that sells flowers and plants fe
M 2 flor
ist’s {pi. flor ists) a shop/store that
sells flowers and plants fel£: I’ve ordered some flowers from the florist’s,
mftfefeij mj-^fe0
floss /Ads; NAmE flo:s;
»noun [U] 1 = dental floss 2 thin silk thread
—
see also candyfloss
■
verb [V, VN] to clean between your teeth with dental
floss mmi ( fel
flo ta tion /flau'teijn; NAmE flou-/ noun 1 (also
float)
[c, U] (business $0 the process of
selling shares in a company to the public for the first time in order to raise
money ( /£fljW ) plans for (a)
flotation
on the stock exchange Wit 0 a
stock-market flotation fe jg: H Tfr % ± rfr 2 [U] the act of floating on
or in water #; MW-
flotation .tank noun a container filled with salt water in which people
float in the dark as a way of relaxing AM )
flo
tilla /fla'tila;
NAmE flou't-/ noun a group of boats or
small ships sailing together &HA; ASH PA flotsam /'flotsam; NAmE 'fla:t-/ noun [U] 1 parts of boats,
pieces of wood or rubbish/garbage, etc. that are found on land near the sea or
floating on the sea; any kind of rubbish/garbage ( A±/7l£iIi?7jcM W ) jjft.K !£$•: The beaches
are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam. PJ
—
compare jetsam 2 people who have
no home or job and who move from place to place, often rejected by society
A^nJjQ #; : the human flotsam of inner cities A
A
flounce /flaons/ verb, noun
n verb [V, usually +adv./prep.] to move somewhere in a way that draws
attention to yourself, for example because you are angry or upset ( ffl )
Mib, Wit], She flounced out of the room.
■
noun 1 a strip of cloth that is sewn around the edge of a skirt, dress,
curtain, etc. (Ac, It, W3?^W ) Wnfii 2 a quick and exaggerated movement that
you make when you are angry or want people to notice you ( ®
)
36#; She left the
room with a flounce. M H ^ it life
it tB Jfe |sl „ ► flounced adj.: a flounced skirt iiiW&f W4fi7 floun der /'flaunda(r)/ verb, noun m verb 1 to struggle to know
what to say or do or how to continue with sth A^0rti; At: [V] His abrupt
change of subject left her
floundering helplessly, ftk ^ ^ &$im, c [also V speech] 2 [V] to
have a lot of problems and
to be in danger of failing completely ||11; M ^ fe ■. At that time the
industry was floundering. SPBfii'MT 3
[V,
usually +adv./prep.] to struggle to
move or get somewhere in water, mud, etc. ( &7jc, ) Wfl:
She
was floundering around in
the deep end of the swimming pool.
■
noun {pi. floun der or floun ders) a small flat sea fish that is used
for food H PH.
flour 0-w /'flaua(r)/ noun, verb
mnoun [U] a fine white or
brown powder made from grain, especially wheat,
and used in cooking for making bread, cakes, etc. (^^J
H iHj ) —
see also plain flour, self-raising
FLOUR
■
verb [VN] [usually passive] to cover sth with a layer of flour
&-±it
( Roll the dough on a lightly
floured surface, mtkmmn,
flourish /'flArij'; NAmE 'fl3:riJ/ verb, noun
■
verb 1 [V] to develop quickly and be successful or
common M ; M ; XE
to grow well; to be
healthy and happy ^>f± J5S0
A
IS Elm thrive : These plants
flourish in a damp climate. 0
{especially
BrE) Tm glad to hear you’re all flourishing.
—
[VN] to wave sth around in a way that
makes people look at it ( ) WM
m noun 1 [usually sing.] an
exaggerated movement that you make when you want sb to notice you ( X 31 M (ft ) fe-"fa it1
ff : He opened the door for her with a flourish. m&
T-fefettiitoftXMffTno 2 [usually sing.] an impressive act or
way of doing sth
The season ended with a flourish for Owen, when he
scored in the final minute of the match. fofebfc
3
details and decoration that are used in speech or writing (
:
a speech full of rhetorical flourishes
—
a curved line, that is used as decoration,
especially in writing ( fe'&'^f
[usually sing.] a loud short piece
of music, that is