flush

English Online Dictionary. What means flush‎? What does flush mean?

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflʌʃ/
• Rhymes: -ʌʃ

Etymology 1

From Middle English flusshen, fluschen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Middle English flasshen, flasschen, flaschen, see flash; or a Middle English blend of flowen (“to flow”) +‎ guschen (“to gush”). Compare with German flutschen.

Noun

flush (plural flushes)

1. A group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc.

Verb

flush (third-person singular simple present flushes, present participle flushing, simple past and past participle flushed)

1. (transitive) To cause to take flight from concealment.

   Synonyms: drive, flush out, scare up

2. (intransitive) To take suddenly to flight, especially from cover.

Translations

Etymology 2

Same as Etymology 3, according to the American Heritage Dictionary.

Adjective

flush (comparative flusher, superlative flushest)

1. Smooth, even, aligned; not sticking out.

2. Wealthy or well off.
3. (typography) Short for flush left and right: a body of text aligned with both its left and right margins.

   Synonyms: forced, forced justified, force justified, justified

4. Full of vigour; fresh; glowing; bright.
5. Affluent; abounding; well furnished or suppled; hence, liberal; prodigal.

Derived terms

• flush left, flush right, flush left and right, flush mount, flush mounted, flush mounting, flush cast, non-flush, semi-flush

Translations

Adverb

flush (not comparable)

1. Suddenly and completely.

Etymology 3

Probably from Etymology 1 according to the American Heritage Dictionary.

Noun

flush (plural flushes)

1. A sudden flowing; a rush which fills or overflows, as of water for cleansing purposes.
2. Particularly, such a cleansing of a toilet.
3. (computing) The process of clearing the contents of a buffer or cache.
4. A suffusion of the face with blood, as from fear, shame, modesty, or intensity of feeling of any kind; a blush; a glow.
5. Any tinge of red colour like that produced on the cheeks by a sudden rush of blood.

6. A sudden flood or rush of feeling; a thrill of excitement, animation, etc.

7. (skiing) A line of poles or obstacles that a skier must weave between.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

flush (third-person singular simple present flushes, present participle flushing, simple past and past participle flushed)

2. (transitive) To cleanse by flooding with generous quantities of a fluid.

3. (transitive) Particularly, to cleanse a toilet by introducing a large amount of water.
5. (intransitive) To become suffused with reddish color due to embarrassment, excitement, overheating, or other systemic disturbance, to blush.
6. (transitive) To cause to blush.
7. To cause to be full; to flood; to overflow; to overwhelm with water.

8. (transitive) To excite, inflame.
9. (intransitive, of a toilet) To be cleansed by being flooded with generous quantities of water.

10. (transitive, computing) To clear (a buffer or cache) of its contents.
11. (transitive, computing, of data held in a buffer or cache) To write (the data) to primary storage, clearing it from the buffer or cache.

12. To flow and spread suddenly; to rush.
13. To show red; to shine suddenly; to glow.
14. (masonry) To fill in (joints); to point the level; to make them flush.
15. (mining, intransitive) To operate a placer mine, where the continuous supply of water is insufficient, by holding back the water, and releasing it periodically in a flood.
16. (mining) To fill underground spaces, especially in coal mines, with material carried by water, which, after drainage, constitutes a compact mass.
17. (intransitive, transitive) To dispose or be disposed of by flushing down a toilet

Usage notes

In sense “turn red with embarrassment”, blush is more common. More finely, in indicating the actual change, blush is usual – “He blushed with embarrassment” – but in indicating state, flushed is also common – “He was flushed with excitement”.

Synonyms

• (turn red with embarrassment): blush

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 4

Various similar terms are found in dialectal English and Scots as flash and flosh (older Scots flosche), and the variation goes back to Middle English flushe, flosche, flashe, flaske. The DSL suggests a relation between flush, English flash (“pool”), and Middle English flosche, but influence from other water-related senses of flush and flash is also conceivable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flʌʃ/, (dialectally) /flɔʃ/, /flʊʃ/

Noun

flush (plural flushes)

1. A groundwater-fed marsh or peaty mire (which may be acidic or basic, nutrient-rich or poor); (originally especially Scotland and Northern England) a (marshy) pool or seep, as in a field.
   • 2012, M. J. Sheehy Skeffington, D. W. Jeffrey, "Growth performance of an inland population of Plantago maritima in response to nitrogen and salinity", in W.G. Beeftink, A.H.L. Huiskes, Jelte Rozema, Ecology of coastal vegetation: Proceedings of a Symposium, page 264:

     The inland distribution of Plantago maritima in Ireland and Britain is [...] generally associated with base-rich soils or with flushes in more acidic upland soils. [...] Many of these inland sites are on uplands of both acidic and basic rock. [...] associated with calcareous, nutrient-poor flushes, [...]

References

Etymology 5

Probably from Middle French flus (“flow”), cognate with flux.

Noun

flush (plural flushes)

1. (poker) A hand consisting of all cards with the same suit.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → French: flush
• → Japanese: フラッシュ (furasshu)
• → Korean: 플러쉬 (peulleoswi)
• → Portuguese: flush

Translations

See also

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English flush.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flœʃ/

Noun

flush m (plural flushs)

1. (poker) flush

   Synonym: couleur

2. (anglicism) flush (reddening of the face)
3. (anglicism, information technology) emptying of the cache

Derived terms

• quinte flush

Derived terms

• flusher

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English flush.

Noun

flush m (plural flushes)

1. (poker) flush (hand consisting of all cards with the same suit)