flood
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An overflow of a large amount of water from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fluhdIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflʌd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
A large flow
The occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide)
“A tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune" -Shakespeare.”
figuratively
A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with.
The flowing in of the tide, opposed to the ebb.
Menstrual discharge; menses.
verb
To overflow, as by water from excessive rainfall.
figuratively
To provide (someone or something) with a larger number or quantity of something than can easily be dealt with.
To bleed profusely, as after childbirth.
To cover or partly fill as if by a flood.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
Used this way, flood is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use flood
- “The swollen river flooded the village.”verb
- “Our basement flooded during the heavy rains.”verb
- “Flood the market with tennis shoes.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
A large amount or stream of something.
An excessive supply.
The sudden outward flowing of a large amount of something.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A technique used in behavior therapy.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A low plain adjacent to a river that is formed chiefly of river sediment and is subject to flooding.
The highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding.
Any of several Australian gum trees growing on moist or alluvial soil.
Arrive in great numbers.
Light that is a source of artificial illumination having a broad beam.
The art or technique of trying to control rivers with dams etc in order to minimize the occurrence of floods.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A low plain adjacent to a river that is formed chiefly of river sediment and is subject to flooding.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- reservoirnoun
- irrigationnoun
- damnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to overflow or as by water from excessive rainfall
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.