floss
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
flahsIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflɑs
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
A soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth
A thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth.
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.
Any thread-like material having parallel strands that are not spun or wound around each other.
british
Spun sugar or cotton candy, especially in the phrase "candy floss".
Raw silk fibres.
verb
intransitive
To perform the floss dance move.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth
Used this way, floss 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 floss
- “Floss your teeth after every meal.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth
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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.