Flow - Definition

n 1: the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)
[syn: flow, flowing]
2: the amount of fluid that flows in a given time [syn: flow,
flow rate, rate of flow]
3: the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression [syn:
flow, stream]
4: any uninterrupted stream or discharge
5: something that resembles a flowing stream in moving
continuously; "a stream of people emptied from the terminal";
"the museum had planned carefully for the flow of visitors"
[syn: stream, flow]
6: dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive
events or ideas; "two streams of development run through
American history"; "stream of consciousness"; "the flow of
thought"; "the current of history" [syn: stream, flow,
current]
7: the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant
women from puberty to menopause; "the women were sickly and
subject to excessive menstruation"; "a woman does not take
the gout unless her menses be stopped"--Hippocrates; "the
semen begins to appear in males and to be emitted at the same
time of life that the catamenia begin to flow in females"--
Aristotle [syn: menstruation, menses, menstruum,
catamenia, period, flow]
v 1: move or progress freely as if in a stream; "The crowd
flowed out of the stadium" [syn: flow, flux]
2: move along, of liquids; "Water flowed into the cave"; "the
Missouri feeds into the Mississippi" [syn: run, flow,
feed, course]
3: cause to flow; "The artist flowed the washes on the paper"
4: be abundantly present; "The champagne flowed at the wedding"
5: fall or flow in a certain way; "This dress hangs well"; "Her
long black hair flowed down her back" [syn: hang, fall,
flow]
6: cover or swamp with water
7: undergo menstruation; "She started menstruating at the age of
11" [syn: menstruate, flow]