flux
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The rate of flow of energy or particles across a given surface.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fluhksIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈflʌks
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
physics
The rate of flow of energy or particles across a given surface
physics
The rate of transfer of energy (or another physical quantity), especially an electric or magnetic field, through a given surface.
The act of flowing; a continuous moving on or passing by, as of a flowing stream.
In constant change
The state of being liquid through heat; fusion.
A state of ongoing change.
verb
Become liquid or fluid when heated
intransitive
To flow as a liquid.
transitive
To melt.
transitive
To use flux on.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The rate of flow of energy or particles across a given surface
Used this way, flux is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use flux
- “The flux following the death of the emperor.”noun
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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.
An applicator for applying flux (as in soldering).
The number of changes in energy flow across a given surface per unit area.
A measure of the amount of flux per unit of cross sectional area.
A measure of the strength of a magnetic field per unit area.
A white crystalline oxide used in the production of calcium hydroxide.
The rate of flow of light energy.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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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.