usually played to announce an
important person or event ftf&^jrP: a flourish of trumpets
b4 floury /'flauari/ adj. 1 covered with flour floury
hands ^ M (ft 7 2 like flour; tasting of flour Hff$H£Uft; a floury texture 3
(of potatoes ± S) soft and light when they are cooked
flout /flaut/ verb [VN] to show that you
have no respect for a law, etc. by openly not obeying it A®
( feW *4 ) cm defy : Motorists regularly flout the law. 3c 0 to flout authority/
convention / MM
flow 0-w /flau; NAmE floo/ noun, verb m noun [C, usually sing., U]
►
CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT M 1 ~ (of sth/sb) the steady
and continuous movement
of sth/sb in one direction i/rt; ffijfo: She tried to
stop the flow of blood from the wound. 0 an endless flow of
refugees into the country 0 to
improve traffic flow (= make it move faster)
it 0 to control the
direction of flow
►
PRODUCTION/SUPPLY 'I- r ; #t $ 2 ~ (of rth) the continuous
production or supply of sth ftUXT*; 7K fitjS: the flow of goods and
services to remote areas ® nnfnHR#J&JZSitfeKfi
7 K ft{&J& o to encourage the free flow of information
tfcJMfil ft &X#rL 0 data flow
—
see also cash flow
►
OF SPEECH/WRITING Wi£; XX 3 continuous talk by
sb
?§i§7£fe: You’ve interrupted my flow—I can’t remember
what I was saying. j/lATKAficftM
ft* X 7 o o As usual,
Tom was in full flow. q
tiMo 4 ~
of sth the
way that words and ideas are linked together in speech or writing Too
many examples can
interrupt the smooth flow of the text.
►
OF THE SEA M
5 the
movement of the sea towards the land if?#]: the ebb and flow of the
tide ?#] if?#] M
IR71 go with the
'flow (informal) to
be relaxed and not worry about what you should do R® A
iH — more at ebb n. u verb [V]
►
MOVE CONTINUOUSLY 7KM 1 ~ (back/down, etc) |
~ (into, through, etc. sth) (of liquid, gas or electricity 'M W. ^#sE7) to move
steadily and continuously in one direction #ft; : It’s here that the
river flows down into the ocean, & ^ M It & M X A M # <, 0 Blood
flowed from a cut on her
head. lM,AMA±(ft#j P&tifttB A o 0 This can prevent air
from flowing freely to the lungs. 0 She lost control
and the tears began to
flow.
M 7 ft A. fi» 2 [V, usually +adv./prep.] (of people or
things A §£ 7 #7) to move or pass continuously from one place or person to
another, especially in large numbers or amounts i§ iirt; ijftzft: Constant streams of
traffic flowed past. Aitft 7 K il il
<, o Election results flowed in throughout the night.
►
OF IDEAS/CONVERSATION M; XM 3 to develop or be
produced in an easy and natural way $ft %: Conversation flowed
freely throughout the meal. /Sri'i] A^-*jIlM
►
BE AVAILABLE EASILY A Win 4 to be available
easily and in large amounts (ft ji; A lift j£Z: It was obvious that
money flowed freely in their family.
(ft ft $$ o 0 The
party got livelier as the drink began to flow. .
►
OF FEELING 5 [+adv./prep.] to be felt strongly by
sb
J: Fear and excitement suddenly flowed over
me.
►
OF CLOTHES/HAIR A M ; A A 6 ~ (down/over sth) to
hang loosely and freely
►
OF THE SEA ffy
7
(of the tide in the sea/ocean
$M$i) to come in towards the land if ; if i#j r»T3-3 ebb v. Wilijyj 'flow from sth formal) to
come or result from
sthAft; &---3I®
'flow chart (also 'flow diagram) noun a
diagram that shows the connections between the different stages of
a process or parts of a
system M H B5 — picture o CHART
flower 0-pr /'flaua(r)/ noun, verb m noun 1 the coloured part of a plant from which
the seed or fruit develops. Flowers usually grow at the end of a stem and last only a short time, ft; ftpfe: The plant has a beautiful bright red flower, ft 7 —
0 The roses are in flower early this year. 0 The crocuses are late coming
into flower. H ft ft ft %
iS „ — picture o plant 2 a plant
grown for the beauty of its flowers ft fttMW: a garden full of
flowers ft
(ft ?£ g| 0 a flower garden/show |@/| 3a flower with
its stem that has been picked as
a decoration ( Ei ) ^ft(ft ft:
I picked some flowers. —
&fto 0 a bunch of
flowers —Mft o a flower arrangement — *&.ffift
— see also bouquet(I) IRTCl the flower of sth (literary)
the finest or best part of sth ( ^M#/£ft ) IHiKfSft,
■ verb [V] 1 (of a
plant or tree ft ^ A) to produce flowers ft ft cnn bloom : This particular variety flowers in July. ft
nn ftt: ft Jf ft 0 0 early-flowering
spring bulbs 4-Jfft^^^^^Ml#J 2 (literary) to develop and become successful J$, B ^ ^ 0f cm BLOSSOM
'flower arranging noun [U] the art of
arranging cut flowers in an attractive way Mft 'flower bed noun a piece of ground in a
garden/yard or park where flowers are grown ftfE flowered /'flauad; NAmE 'flauard/ adj. [usually
before noun] decorated
with patterns of flowers Sift
flowering /'flauarir)/
noun 1 [U] the time when a
plant has flowers JfftH^ 2 [C, usually sing.] ~ of sth the time when sth,
especially a period of new ideas in art, music, science, etc., reaches its most
complete and successful stage of development (’'0rSSi,
f4^#(ft )m^im
flowerpot /'flauapDt;
NAmE ’flauarpa:t/ noun a container made of
plastic or clay for growing
plants in
ft&
'flower power noun [U] the culture
connected with young people of the 1960s and early 1970s who believed in love
and peace and were against war ft A
A ( 20 tHAE 60 70 AM^M
flowery /'flauari/
adj. [usually
before noun] 1 covered with flowers
or decorated with pictures of flowers SM smelling or tasting of flowers ft # (ft ; ft ft 3 (usually disapproving) (of speech or writing
W 1a X 7) too complicated;
not expressed in a clear and simple way «7^ft
flown pp of FLY
'flow-on noun, adj. {AustralE, NZE) m noun an increase in pay or
an improvement in working conditions that is made because one has already been
given in a similar job ( 0
rA mm)
m adj. flow-on effects, etc. are ones
that happen as a result of sth else ( )
jl[^(ft
fl oz abbr. {pi. fl oz) (in writing) fluid ounce ( 7 ^ % ) ffcSiStiJ: Add 8 floz water, jjfl 8 flu 0-w /flu:/ (often the flu) (also formal in-flu-enza) noun [U]
an infectious disease
like a very bad cold, that causes fever, pains and weakness fj '14 /IS 1 ;
?/fLfE§ : The whole family has the
flu. o {BrEj) She’s got
flu. ililll.
flub /flAb/
verb (-bb-) {NAmE, informal) to do sth badly or
make a mistake 7 ; li; la Tm fluff, bungle: [VN] She flubbed the first line of the song. MIC
[also V] ►flub noun
fluc-tu-ate /’flAktJueit/ verb [V] ~ (between A
and B) to change frequently in size, amount, quality, etc., especially
from one extreme to another ( A7. $C:IL MM