flow means movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude. It carries an Arena rating of 1395, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, flow ranks #827 of 17,052 for Most Malleable Words, #974 of 17,052 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,434 of 17,052 for Most Elegant Words, #3,837 of 17,052 for Most Beautiful Words.
flow is pronounced /ˈfləʊ̯/.
Why “flow” is a great word
The continuous, steady movement of a fluid or a succession of things. From Middle English *flowe* (noun), from the verb *flowen*, from Old English *flōwan* "to flow, stream," from Proto-Germanic *flōaną*, from Proto-Indo-European *plew-* ("to flow, run, float"); the psychological sense of an optimal state of focus was coined in 1975 by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Unlike "ebb," which draws back and retreats, or "stutter," which catches and fractures the current, flow is unbroken momentum. It is the silent slide of honey from a spoon, the unbroken line of a practiced signature, the perfect absorption of a mind lost in its task—the rare alignment where the self dissolves into the pure current of doing.
Etymology
From Middle English flowe, from the verb (see below). The psychology sense “state of focus” was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975.
noun
- Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.
- The movement of a real or figurative fluid.
- A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set.e.g.“The notion of flow is basic to the study of ordinary differential equations.”
- The rising movement of the tide.
- Smoothness or continuity.e.g.“The room was small, but it had good symmetry and flow.”
- The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement.e.g.“Turn on the valve and make sure you have sufficient flow.”
- A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant).
- A mental state characterized by concentration, focus, and enjoyment of a given task.
- The emission of blood during menstruation.e.g.“Tampons can be small or large, slender or thick. From “slender” to “super”, you can pick the size that matches your flow.”
- The ability to skillfully rap along to a beat.e.g.“The production on his new mixtape is mediocre but his flow is on point.”
- The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action.e.g.“login flow”
- A bog or mire, especially a rough, waterlogged one.
verb
- To move as a fluid from one position to another.e.g.“Rivers flow from springs and lakes.”
- To proceed; to issue forth; to emanate.e.g.“Wealth flows from industry and economy.”
- To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously.e.g.“The writing is grammatically correct, but it just doesn't flow.”
- To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over.
- To hang loosely and wave.e.g.“a flowing mantle”
- To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb.e.g.“The tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.”
- To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow.
- To allow (a liquid) to flow.
- To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.
- To cover with varnish.
- To discharge excessive blood from the uterus.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.