floss
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floss¹
- /flɒs/ UK
- /flɔs/ US
- /flɑs/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒs, -ɔːs
Where it comes from
Unclear:
* Possibly from French floche (“tuft of wool”), from floc, from Old French flosche (“down, velvet”), from Latin floccus (“piece of wool”), probably from Frankish *flokkō (“down, wool, flock”), from Proto-Germanic *flukkô (“down, piece of wool, flock”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“hair, fibres, tuft”).
* Or, from Middle English *flos (attested in Middle English Flosmonger (a surname)), from Proto-West Germanic *fleus, related to English fleece.
Cognate with Old High German flocko (“down”), Middle Dutch vlocke (“flock”), Norwegian dialectal flugsa (“snowflake”), Dutch flos (“plush”) (tr=17c.).
noun flosses
- A thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth.
- Raw silk fibres.
- The fibres covering a corncob etc.; the loose downy or silky material inside the husks of certain plants, such as beans.
- Any thread-like material having parallel strands that are not spun or wound around each other. embroidery floss
- Spun sugar or cotton candy, especially in the phrase "candy floss".
- A body feather of an ostrich. Flosses are soft, and grey from the female and black from the male.
- A dance move in which the dancer repeatedly swings their arms, with clenched fists, from the back of their body to the front, on each side.
verb flosses · flossing · flossed
- To clean the area between (the teeth) using floss. I don't floss very often.
-
To show off, especially by exhibiting one's wealth or talent.
As the label's name no doubt implies, these rappers aren't your typical crew, even if they still like to floss and represent their city.
Similar: flamboast, high-side, stunt, aura farm, boulevardier, cut a wide swath, cut it fat, cut round, exhibitionize, figure away, flaunt, flex
- To perform the floss dance move.
floss²
- /flɒs/ UK
- /flɔs/ US
- /flɑs/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒs, -ɔːs
Where it comes from
From dialectal flosh (“a flush, stream of water, sluice”), from Middle English flosche, flusche, flasche, flaske (“a watery or marshy place, swamp”), perhaps from Old French flache, from Middle Dutch vlacke (“a flat area, plain”), ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *fleutan. Compare also German Floss (“a float”).
noun flosses
- A small stream of water.
- Fluid glass floating on iron in the puddling furnace, produced by the vitrification of oxides and earths which are present.
floss³
- /flɒs/ UK
- /flɔs/ US
- /flɑs/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒs, -ɔːs
Where it comes from
Origin obscure. Perhaps of North Germanic origin. Compare Norwegian flos, flus (“rind, scale, strip peeled off”).
noun flosses
-
The common rush (Juncus effusus).
Similar: common rush, soft rush
FLOSS⁴
noun
- Abbreviation of free/libre/open source software FLOSS has proven to be an extremely valuable tool for accelerating research in various fields of IT and engineering in order to address the needs of society in the future.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: dental floss, toothbrush, tissue, yarn, thread, seta, wire, fil, silk, unwaxed, flosh, floss-silk, flexid, butt floss, fangtooth, filiment
Translations
Every language
noun silk fibres
| Deutsch | Rohseide, Seidenfaser |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | ακατέργαστο μετάξι akatérgasto metáxi |
noun the fibres covering a corncob etc.
| Português | cabelo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Maiskolbenfaser |
noun spun sugar or cotton candy
| Français | barbe à papa |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Zuckerwatte |
| Italiano | zucchero filato |
| Ελληνικά | μαλλί της γριάς mallí tis griás |
| Русский | са́харная ва́та sáxarnaja váta |
verb Translations
| Español | usar hilo dental, limpiarse con hilo dental |
|---|---|
| Português | usar fio dental |
Talk about this word "floss." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/floss. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. floss. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/floss "floss." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/floss.Cite this
@misc{floss_2026,
title = {floss},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/floss},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
