overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

flow.

Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈfləʊ̯/Received-Pronunciation[ˈfləʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɵʊ̯/Received-Pronunciation[ˈflɵ̞ʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation
  1. Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The movement of a real or figurative fluid.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set.

    countable · uncountable
    The notion of flow is basic to the study of ordinary differential equations.
  4. The rising movement of the tide.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Smoothness or continuity.

    countable · uncountable
    The room was small, but it had good symmetry and flow.
  6. The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement.

    countable · uncountable
    Turn on the valve and make sure you have sufficient flow.
    Other devices measure water flow in streams fed by melted ice.
  7. A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant).

    countable · uncountable
  8. A mental state characterized by concentration, focus, and enjoyment of a given task.

    countable · uncountable
  9. The emission of blood during menstruation.

    countable · uncountable
    Tampons can be small or large, slender or thick. From “slender” to “super”, you can pick the size that matches your flow.
  10. The ability to skillfully rap along to a beat.

    countable · uncountable
    The production on his new mixtape is mediocre but his flow is on point.
  11. The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English flowe, from the verb (see below). The psychology sense “state of focus” was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975.

verb/ˈfləʊ̯/Received-Pronunciation[ˈfləʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɵʊ̯/Received-Pronunciation[ˈflɵ̞ʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation
  1. To move as a fluid from one position to another.

    intransitive
    Rivers flow from springs and lakes.
    Tears flow from the eyes.
  2. To proceed; to issue forth; to emanate.

    intransitive
    Wealth flows from industry and economy.
  3. To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously.

    intransitive
    The writing is grammatically correct, but it just doesn't flow.
  4. To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over.

    intransitive
  5. To hang loosely and wave.

    intransitive
  6. To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb.

    intransitive
    The tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.
  7. To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow.

    transitive
  8. To allow (a liquid) to flow.

    transitive
  9. To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.

    transitive
  10. To cover with varnish.

    transitive
  11. To discharge excessive blood from the uterus.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English flowen, from Old English flōwan (“to flow”), from Proto-West Germanic *flōan, from Proto-Germanic *flōaną (“to flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *plōw-, lengthened o-grade form of *plew- (“to fly, flow, run”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian flouje (“to flow”), West Frisian floeie (“to flow”), Dutch vloeien (“to flow”), Norwegian flo (“to flow”). Compare also English float. Not cognate with Latin fluō despite similarity.

noun/ˈfləʊ̯/Received-Pronunciation[ˈfləʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɵʊ̯/Received-Pronunciation[ˈflɵ̞ʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation
  1. A bog or mire, especially a rough, waterlogged one.

    Scotland
Where this word comes from

Uncertain. Perhaps from Old Norse flói (“a large bay, firth”), see floe. Compare Scots flow (“peat-bog, marsh”), Icelandic flói (“marshy ground”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

flow has 4 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

flow studioflow workshello, flow

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.