<B>flout, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to treat with contempt or scorn; mock; scoff at. <BR> <I>Ex. The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.</I> (SYN) taunt. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to show contempt or scorn; mock; scoff. <BR> <I>Ex. Ah, you may flout and turn up your faces (Robert Browning).</I> (SYN) jeer. <DD><I>noun </I> a contemptuous speech or act; insult; mockery; scoffing. <BR> <I>Ex. Bruise me with scorn, confound me with a flout (Shakespeare).</I> (SYN) taunt, jeer. noun <B>flouter.</B> adv. <B>floutingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="flow">
<B>flow, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to run like water; move in a current or stream. <BR> <I>Ex. A stream flows past the house. Blood flows through our bodies. Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes (Robert Burns).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to pour out; pour along. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) The crowd flowed out of the town hall and down the main street.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to move easily or smoothly; glide. <BR> <I>Ex. Light traffic flowed along the highway.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to hang loosely and waving. <BR> <I>Ex. flowing robes, a flowing tie. Her long hair flowed in the wind.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to be plentiful; be full and overflowing. <BR> <I>Ex. a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(of the tide) to flow in; rise. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Obsolete.) to be overfull. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cause to flow. <DD><B> 2. </B>to cover with water or other liquid; flood. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a thing that flows; current; stream. <BR> <I>Ex. There is a constant flow of water from the spring.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) any smooth, steady movement like that of water in a river. <BR> <I>Ex. a rapid flow of speech, the flow of traffic. A bird sings the self-same song with never a fault in its flow (Thomas Hardy).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the act or way of flowing. <BR> <I>Ex. a flow of blood. From farm to farm the Concord glides, and trails my fancy with its flow (James Russell Lowell).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the rate of flowing. <BR> <I>Ex. a flow of two feet per second.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>the flowing of the tide toward the shore; rise of the tide. <BR> <I>Ex. Each wavelet on the ocean toss'd Aids in the ebb-tide or the flow (Charles Mackay).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>an overflowing; flooding. <BR> <I>Ex. the flows of the Nile.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Physics.) the directional movement in a current or stream that is a characteristic of all fluids, such as air or electricity. <BR> <I>Ex. The flow of cosmic ray energy is just about the same as the energy-flow in starlight (E. P. George).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="flowage">
<B>flowage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of flowing; flow. <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being flooded. <DD><B> 3. </B>the fluid that flows or floods. <DD><B> 4. </B>the gradual internal alteration in structure of a viscous solid, such as asphalt, by intermolecular movement. </DL>
<B>flow chart,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a diagram or chart showing the flow of supplies, equipment, or information, in an industrial, military, or other operation; flow sheet. </DL>
<A NAME="flowdiagram">
<B>flow diagram,</B> =flow chart.</DL>
<A NAME="flower">
<B>flower, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a blossom; the part of a plant that produces the seed. A flower is a shortened branch with modified leaves called petals. In botanical use, a flower consists normally of pistil, stamens, corolla, and calyx in regular series, any one or more of which may be absent. Flowers are often beautifully colored or shaped. <BR> <I>Ex. Bees gather nectar from flowers. The earliest known flowers were relatively simple, with small carpels, simple stamens, and flat or cup-shaped receptacles (Fred W. Emerson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a plant grown for its blossoms. <BR> <I>Ex. Her hobby is raising flowers.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>any one of several kinds of reproductive structures in lower plants, such as the mosses. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) the finest part. <BR> <I>Ex. the flower of the country's youth. The flower of high society was present at the royal ball. Lancelot the flower of bravery (Tennyson).</I> (SYN) cream. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) the time when a thing is at its best; prime. <BR> <I>Ex. He is a man in the flower of life, about thirty (Scott).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>an ornament representing a flower; ornament; adornment. <BR> <I>Ex. A diamond flower glittered in her hair.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to have flowers; produce flowers; bloom. <BR> <I>Ex. Most fruit trees flower in the spring.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to be at one's or its best; come into or be in one's prime. <BR> <I>Ex. Italian culture flowered in the Renaissance.</I> (SYN) flourish. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cover or decorate with flowers. <DD><B> 2. </B>to cause to blossom or bloom. <BR><I>expr. <B>flowers,</B> </I>a chemical substance in the form of a fine powder, obtained especially as the result of condensation after sublimation. <BR> <I>Ex. flowers of sulfur.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in flower,</B> </I>in the condition or time of having flowers; flowering. <BR> <I>Ex. An orchard in flower looks ... more delightful than ... the most finished parterre (Joseph Addison).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in full flower,</B> </I>at the peak of attainment. <BR> <I>Ex. The young leader was in full flower when he was struck down by a crippling disease.</I> adj. <B>flowerlike.</B> </DL>
<B>flower bed,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a plot of soil set aside for the growing of flowers. <DD><B> 2. </B>a plot of flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerbox">
<B>flower box,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a box of wood or metal, filled with soil, in which flowers can be grown. It is often fixed to a window ledge or porch railing. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerbug">
<B>flower bug,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various small true bugs or hemipterous insects which frequent the blossoms of flowering plants. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerchild">
<B>flower child,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a hippie who proclaims love and peace, especially by carrying around or handing out flowers. <BR> <I>Ex. A long-haired flower child was cleared here of charges of "throwing a flower, to wit, a daisy" at a city police car (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any hippie. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerclock">
<B>flower clock,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an arrangement of flowers that open and close at certain hours, such as the four-o'clock, in order to tell the approximate time of day. </DL>
<A NAME="flowercup">
<B>flower cup,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=calyx.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>the cup-shaped receptacle formed by certain flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerday">
<B>Flower Day,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> April 8, a day set aside by the Japanese to honor the birthday of Buddha. They decorate temples with flowers and pour sweet tea over small statues of the infant Buddha. </DL>
<B>flowered, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having flowers. <BR> <I>Ex. a flowered border of the garden.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>covered or decorated with flowers. <BR> <I>Ex. a flowered bowl, flowered silk.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="flowerer">
<B>flowerer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a plant that flowers in a certain way or at a certain time. <BR> <I>Ex. The lilac is a spring flowerer.</I> </DL>
<B>flower fence,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a leguminous, tropical shrub having large, showy, orange or red flowers, sometimes used for hedges. </DL>
<A NAME="flowergirl">
<B>flower girl,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a young girl carrying flowers before the bride at some weddings. <BR> <I>Ex. Susan Allen, a niece of the bride, served as flower girl (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a girl who sells flowers, usually on the street. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerhead">
<B>flower head,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a dense cluster of florets growing from the shortened summit of a stem, such as that on the dandelion, chrysanthemum, sunflower, or other composite plants. A flower head is also called a capitulum, anthodium, or compound flower. </DL>
<A NAME="flowering">
<B>flowering, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> having flowers. <BR> <I>Ex. Many flowering plants blossom in the spring.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a coming into flower; a ripening. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Inside Japan a flowering called by historians the "Japanese Renaissance" took place in the 17th Century (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="floweringalmond">
<B>flowering almond,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a shrub of the rose family grown for its pink or white flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="floweringdogwood">
<B>flowering dogwood,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small North American tree covered in the spring with large white or pink flowers. Its flower is the state flower of Virginia and North Carolina. See also <B>dogwood.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="floweringmaple">
<B>flowering maple,</B> =abutilon.</DL>
<A NAME="floweringquince">
<B>flowering quince,</B> =Japanese quince.</DL>
<A NAME="floweringspurge">
<B>flowering spurge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a hardy spurge of eastern North America, grown for the showy white appendages of its flower cluster; emetic root. </DL>
<B>flower piece,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a specially designed arrangement of flowers. <DD><B> 2. </B>a picture with flowers as its subject. <DD><B> 3. </B>a particular shape worked in flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="flowerpot">
<B>flowerpot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a pot to hold soil for a plant to grow in. <DD><B> 2. </B>a form of fireworks. <BR> <I>Ex. The kind of fireworks that we call a flowerpot throws colored balls into the air (Ralph Ingersoll).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="flowerpower">
<B>flower power,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> power sought by flower children to achieve social change through love and nonviolence. </DL>
<A NAME="flowers">
<B>flowers, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>flower.</B> </DL>
