flush

English · Français · Português · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

flush^¹

/ˈflʌʃ/

Rhymes with -ʌʃ

Where it comes from

From Middle English flusshen, fluschen, of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal flusk (“to fly at, startle a bird out of the bush”) and flusker (“to flutter, fly irregularly”). Perhaps related to Middle English flasshen, flasschen, flaschen, see flash; or a Middle English blend of flowen (“to flow”) + guschen (“to gush”). Compare Saterland Frisian flutskje, German Low German flutschen, German flutschen.

noun flushes

A group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc. As when a Faulcon hath with nimble flight / Flowne at a flush of Ducks foreby the brooke […].

verb flushes · flushing · flushed

transitive To cause to take flight from concealment. The dogs flushed the deer from the woods.
Similar: drive, flush out, scare up
intransitive To take suddenly to flight, especially from cover. A covey of quail flushed from the undergrowth.

flush^²

/ˈflʌʃ/

Rhymes with -ʌʃ

Where it comes from

Same as Etymology 3, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

adjective flusher · flushest

Smooth, even, aligned; not sticking out. Sand down the excess until it is flush with the surface.
Wealthy or well off. He just got a bonus so he's flush today.
abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of flush left and right: a body of text aligned with both its left and right margins.
Similar: forced, forced justified, force justified, justified
Full of vigor; fresh; glowing; bright. With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May.
Affluent; abounding; well furnished or supplied; hence, liberal; prodigal. [H]e vvas not fluſh in Ready [i.e., ready money], either to go to Lavv or clear old Debts, neither could he find good Bail: […]

adverb

not comparable Suddenly and completely. I landed flush on the couch.

flush^³

/ˈflʌʃ/

Rhymes with -ʌʃ

Where it comes from

Probably from Etymology 1, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

noun flushes

countable, uncountable A sudden flowing; a rush which fills or overflows, as of water for cleansing purposes. in manner of a wave or flush
countable, uncountable Particularly, such a cleansing of a toilet.
countable, uncountable The process of clearing the contents of a buffer or cache.
countable, uncountable A suffusion of the face with blood, as from fear, shame, modesty, or intensity of feeling of any kind; a blush; a glow. When I would kiss thy hand, / The flush of anger'd shame / O'erflows thy calmer glances, / And o'er black brows drops down / A sudden-curved frown: […]
countable, uncountable Any tinge of red color like that produced on the cheeks by a sudden rush of blood. the flush on the side of a peach; the flush on the clouds at sunset
countable, uncountable A sudden flood or rush of feeling; a thrill of excitement, animation, etc. a flush of joy
countable, uncountable A line of poles or obstacles that a skier must weave between.

verb flushes · flushing · flushed

transitive To cleanse by flooding with generous quantities of a fluid. Flush the injury with plenty of water.
Similar: sluice
transitive Particularly, to cleanse a toilet by introducing a large amount of water.
intransitive To become suffused with reddish color due to embarrassment, excitement, overheating, or other systemic disturbance, to blush. The damsel flushed at the scoundrel's suggestion.
Similar: blush, crimson
transitive To cause to blush. Nor flush with shame the passing virgin's cheek.
To cause to be full; to flood; to overflow; to overwhelm with water. to flush the meadows
transitive To excite, inflame. such things as can only feed his pride and flush his ambition
intransitive, of a toilet To be cleansed by being flooded with generous quantities of water. There must be somebody home: I just heard the toilet flushing.
transitive To clear (a buffer or cache) of its contents.
transitive, of data held in a buffer or cache To write (the data) to primary storage, clearing it from the buffer or cache. flush to disk
To flow and spread suddenly; to rush. Blood flushes into the face.
To show red; to shine suddenly; to glow. In her cheek, distemper flushing glowed.
To fill in (joints); to point the level; to make them flush.
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.
To fill underground spaces, especially in coal mines, with material carried by water, which, after drainage, constitutes a compact mass.
intransitive, transitive To dispose or be disposed of by flushing down a toilet.
Singapore To move, shift or align to one side.

flush^⁴

/flʌʃ/
/ˈflʌʃ/

Rhymes with -ʌʃ

Where it comes from

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.

noun flushes

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. For this point onwards the land slopes gently until it becomes quite low lying, that is, tends to become a "flush" or bog.

flush^⁵

/ˈflʌʃ/

Rhymes with -ʌʃ

Where it comes from

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

noun flushes

A hand consisting of all cards with the same suit.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: flower, buff, blossom, bloom, rush, rosiness, blush, redness, redden, crimson, scour, burnish, furbish, inflammation, gush, outpouring

Translations

Every language

verb to cause to take flight from concealment

Français	lever, faire sortir
Deutsch	Aufscheuchen
Italiano	stanare, scovare

verb to take suddenly to flight, especially from cover

Deutsch	aufscheuchen, aufjagen, auffliegen
Italiano	prendere il volo, levarsi in volo, volare via

adj smooth, even, aligned; not sticking out

Español	plano, alineado, al ras, raso, a ras
Français	de niveau, aligné
Deutsch	bündig, flächenbündig, oberflächenbündig, eben, flach, eingelassen
Italiano	liscio, livellato, allineato

adj wealthy or well off

Español	rico
Français	en fonds, riche
Deutsch	wohlhabend, reich, vermögend

noun sudden flowing; cleansing

Deutsch	Spülen, Spülung, Schwall, Wasserschwall, Strömung, Wasserströmung
Italiano	flusso, scarico, risciacquo
العربية	شطف

noun cleansing of a toilet

Español	descargamiento, purgamiento
Português	descarga, autoclismo
Français	chasse d'eau
Deutsch	Spülen, Spülung, Wasserspülung
Italiano	sciacquone
Ελληνικά	καζανάκι kazanáki

noun suffusion of the face with blood

Español	chapeta
Deutsch	Rotwerden, Erröten, Errötung, Röte, Hautrötung
Italiano	arrossimento

noun any tinge of red color

Español	sonrojo
Deutsch	Röte, Rötung
Italiano	arrossamento

noun a sudden flood or rush of feeling

Deutsch	Wallung, Aufwallung, Fieberanfall
Italiano	traboccamento
Русский	при́ступ prístup, прили́в prilív

verb to cleanse by flooding with generous quantities of a fluid

Français	laver à grande eau
Deutsch	spülen, ausspülen, durchspülen, abspritzen
Italiano	irrorare
Русский	смыва́ть smyvátʹ, смыть smytʹ, промыва́ть promyvátʹ, промы́ть promýtʹ

verb to cleanse a toilet by introducing lots of water

Español	floshear, jalar el wáter, purgar la poceta, tirar de la cadena, descargar la cisterna, echar agua
中文	衝水 /冲水 chōngshuǐ
Português	dar descarga, puxar descarga
Français	tirer la chasse d'eau, tirer la chasse
Deutsch	spülen, durchspülen
Italiano	tirare lo sciacquone
Română	trage apa
Русский	смыва́ть smyvátʹ, смыть smytʹ
Tiếng Việt	xả

verb to cause to blush

Deutsch	rot werden lassen, erröten lassen
Italiano	arrossire

verb to overwhelm with water

Deutsch	überfluten, mit Wasser überspülen, bewässern
Italiano	allagare, inondare, sommergere

verb to excite, inflame

Deutsch	in Wallung bringen, erregen
Italiano	stuzzicare, eccitare, infiammare, solleticare, sfruculiare

verb of toilet: to be cleansed with generous quantities of water

Deutsch	durchspülen
Italiano	tirare lo sciacquone
Română	trage apa

verb computing: to clear a buffer of its contents

Deutsch	(völlig) entleeren, leeren
Italiano	svuotare, ripulire

verb to flow and spread suddenly

Deutsch	strömen, rauschen, fließen, durchfließen, durchströmen
Italiano	rifluire, fluire

verb to show red

Deutsch	erglühen, erröten
Italiano	infiammare

verb masonry: to fill in

Deutsch	hineinspülen, auffüllen, verfugen, abziehen, verfüllen
Italiano	riempire, colmare

noun poker hand

Español	flor, color, flux
한국어	플러쉬 peulleoswi
日本語	フラッシュ furasshu
中文	同花 tónghuā
Português	flush
Français	flush, couleur, floche
Deutsch	Flush
Italiano	colore
Română	culoare
Русский	флеш fleš, сам-пят sam-pjat
Tiếng Việt	thùng

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"flush." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/flush. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

flush. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/flush

Chicago

"flush." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/flush.

BibTeX

@misc{flush_2026,
  title = {flush},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/flush},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}

flush

AI In plain words

flush¹

Where it comes from

noun flushes

verb flushes · flushing · flushed

flush²

Where it comes from

adjective flusher · flushest

adverb

flush³

Where it comes from

noun flushes

verb flushes · flushing · flushed

flush⁴

Where it comes from

noun flushes

flush⁵

Where it comes from

noun flushes

Thesaurus

Translations

verb to cause to take flight from concealment

verb to take suddenly to flight, especially from cover

adj smooth, even, aligned; not sticking out

adj wealthy or well off

noun sudden flowing; cleansing

noun cleansing of a toilet

noun suffusion of the face with blood

noun any tinge of red color

noun a sudden flood or rush of feeling

verb to cleanse by flooding with generous quantities of a fluid

verb to cleanse a toilet by introducing lots of water

verb to cause to blush

verb to overwhelm with water

verb to excite, inflame

verb of toilet: to be cleansed with generous quantities of water

verb computing: to clear a buffer of its contents

verb to flow and spread suddenly

verb to show red

verb masonry: to fill in

noun poker hand

flush^¹

flush^²

flush^³

flush^⁴

flush^⁵