flush1
/flʌʃ
/verb
1 [no object] (Of a person’s skin, face, etc.) become red and hot, typically as the result of illness or strong emotion: Rachel flushed angrily...
- Her skin reacted to the small touches, goose bumps jittering across her flesh as her face flushed hot.
- The manager's face flushed, and he interrupted, ‘My wife is from Grand Rapids!’
- My face feels really flushed and hot from the central heating, and I'm mainly thinking about that.
Synonyms
blush, redden, turn/go pink, turn/go red, turn/go crimson, turn/go scarlet, colour (up), change colour, crimson, tint, burn up
archaic mantle
red, pink, ruddy, glowing, reddish, pinkish, florid, high-coloured, healthy-looking, aglow, burning, flaming, feverish, rubicund, roseate, rosy;
blushing, red-faced, blowsy, embarrassed, shamefaced
archaic sanguine
rare erubescent, rubescent
1.1 [with object] Make red and hot: a wave of colour flushed his cheeks...
- Her cheeks had been flushed from the morning chill and her green eyes bright with unchecked spirit.
- Kristen added, rushing to her feet as well, a rosy blush flushing her cheeks.
- A brief thank-you and a hint of a blush flushes her cheeks, she takes a sip of cold fruity Pimms and listens in for a cue in the conversation she can jump in on.
1.2Glow or cause to glow with warm colour or light: [with object]: the sky was flushed with the gold of dawn...
- It is an evergreen or semi-evergreen multi-stemmed shrub with lance shaped leaves that are purplish when young and flushed with colour in autumn.
- Keleus thrust his spear into the earth and looked upon the dying sky, flushed in crimson, and he whispered unto the winds.
- The flowers are large and wallflower red on the outside, the inner colour being soft orange flushed with red towards the tip, fading to a paler, softer throat.
2 [with object] Cleanse (something, especially a toilet) by causing large quantities of water to pass through it: she flushed the loo the nurse flushed out the catheter...
- In case you lose power, you will still have water to flush toilets or wash up.
- Imagine, we use two gallons of quality drinking water every time we flush the toilet.
- More than half of all domestic water is used to flush toilets and water gardens.
2.1 [no object] (Of a toilet) be cleansed by flushing: Cally heard the toilet flush...
- She giggled some more and I heard the toilet flushing.
- Then, to Chloe's relief, she heard the toilet flushing down the hallway and the door to Jax's parents' room closing.
- I heard the sounds of his yelling and the toilet flushing together.
2.2 [with object and adverbial of direction] Remove or dispose of (an object or substance) by flushing: I flushed the pills down the lavatory the kidneys require more water to flush out waste products...
- However, drink plenty of fluids to flush the radioactive substance from your body.
- Would my body flush this substance out of my system if I quit eating carrots now?
- He said he's satisfied that because of heavy rains which flushed the detergent out, no permanent damage was done to the creek.
Synonyms
rinse (out), wash (out/down), sluice, swill, cleanse, clean, hose (down), swab
British informal sloosh (down)
2.3 [with object and adverbial of direction] Cause (a liquid) to flow through something: 0.3 ml of saline is gently flushed through the tube...
- The first few times it happened, I screamed blue murder for the nurse, who came and simply opened the clamp, increasing the flow and flushing the blood back into the vein in a wonderfully cold ripply gush.
- She considers it fun to flush saline solution through the port in her chest.
- One milliliter of sterile saline is flushed into the middle ear cavity and aspirated back.
3 [with object and adverbial of direction] Drive (a bird, especially a game bird, or an animal) from its cover: the grouse were flushed from the woods...
- Provisions in the Protection of Wild Mammals Act 2002 allowed for the use of dogs to flush foxes from cover for marksmen to shoot as a means of pest control.
- Falconry is not outlawed and in that sport you use dogs to flush prey to your bird.
- Under the ban, hunters are allowed to use dogs to flush foxes from their hiding places, but they are not supposed to use dogs to actively search for foxes.
Synonyms
drive, send up, chase, force, dislodge, expel, frighten, scare
3.1Cause to be revealed; force into the open: they’re trying to flush him out of hiding...
- The forces tried to flush them out by flooding the mains, but the resisters managed to stop the water supply.
- Again, there is not very much wrong with that - the police have primacy to enforce the law while the army, backed by the air force, flush the guerrillas out into the open.
- Careful arrangements were made to flush him out of his hiding place.
4 [no object] (Of a plant) send out fresh shoots: the plant had started to flush by late March...
- In summer it bloomed with such richness that it hurt the eyes, flowers flushed to shrubs, the bluebells and snowdrops pushed their way through the drab dead leaves.
- The early leaves flush immediately after bud breaking, and the late leaves appear after the early leaves are mature and continue to appear until early September.
- All seedlings were dormant in December and had flushed in May.
noun
1A reddening of the face, skin, etc., typically caused by illness or strong emotion: a flush of embarrassment rose to her cheeks...
- When I am near her, I can feel the heat, the flush in my skin.
- There was a flush to his tanned skin and his green eyes were unnaturally bright, but there was nothing to indicate the dull haze of alcohol.
- He clutched at the light coverlet, pulling it with him as he sat up, a flush coloring his skin.
Synonyms
blush, reddening, high colour, colour, rosiness, pinkness, ruddiness, bloom
1.1An area of warm colour or light: the bird has a pinkish flush on the breast...
- But the surfaces were now coloured in soft flushes of pink or orange and the marks blurring toward integration with the surfaces.
- Whatever his technique, the effect was to create suave and radiant flushes of colour, with no sense of brush gesture or hint of figuration.
- Further down the display boards, the first flushes of colour catch the visitor's eye.
2 [in singular] A sudden rush of intense emotion: I was carried away in a flush of enthusiasm...
- Charlie felt a flush of joy and relief.
- A sudden flush of self-consciousness twitches at the ubiquitous teenage angst and she tugs at the frayed hem of her puffball skirt.
- He was swept away by him and the flush of inspiration and excitement led to some of his religious masterpieces.
2.1A period when something is new or particularly fresh and vigorous: he is no longer in the first flush of youth...
- While she may not be in the first flush of youth, she is hardly an unsightly wreck, and the faults she highlights about her body loom large to no one except her.
- The place was fairly hopping when I got there and the great music from Joe Newman had these folks, many of them not in the first flush of youth, having a ball.
- He wasn't in the first flush of youth, but he was up for everything, always smiling, always full of energy.
Synonyms
bloom, glow, freshness, radiance, vigour, rush
2.2A sudden abundance or spate of something: the frogs feast on the great flush of insects...
- For some local merchants, the initial flush of spending by farmers making the switch is good business.
- But where is this concerted flush of global attention taking Mexican cinema?
- The company chief insists that 20 new models will buoy unit sales in the second half of 2003, but a flush of younger cars alone will not fix the company's problems.
2.3A fresh growth of leaves, flowers, or fruit.Gardeners also benefit from this beauty during the late summer, when it produces edible yellow fruits after a flush of saucer-shaped flowers....
- The signals that modulate the timing of spring bud flush are, predominately, winter chilling and spring temperatures.
- Damage is most common during summer flushes of new fern growth.
3An act of cleansing something, especially a toilet, with a sudden flow of water: an old-fashioned toilet uses six or seven gallons a flush...
- This same amount of water equals 66 flushes per day with old, 20-litre toilets, suggesting that toilets may not be the most important focus for water conservation.
- The standard household lavatory, we are told, uses 7.5 litres of water per flush.
- But the latest flush toilets use only six litres per flush.
3.1The device used for flushing a toilet: he pressed the flush absent-mindedly...
- Pushing the flush down on the toilet, I stood up slowly.
- He cursed out of a regular habit as he pulled the flush down on the toilet.
- Drinking water came from the sink in the toilet, the flush of which was operated by pulling a metal hanger in the cistern.
3.2 [as modifier] Denoting a type of toilet that has a flushing device.There were very few flush lavatories even at foreign companies, hotels and apartments, let alone ordinary residences....
- There is no flush toilet in the bathroom - or anywhere else for that matter.
- Showers and toilets were not separate, there was no toilet paper and in some cases no flush toilets.
3.3A sudden flow: the melting snow provides a flush of water...
- Tope love the first flush of a new tide as it begins to gain a little speed and washes over the structure you're fishing.
- The Ouse was the highlight of weekend match action once again having benefited from a mid-week flush of fresh water.
- On the third day, we reckoned the rain was great and isn't it good that the Todd is getting a proper flush, while we secretly hoped that the drizzle would stop.
4The action of driving an animal or game bird from its cover: labradors retrieve the birds after the flush...
- There are plenty of people who do allow their dogs to help with the flush once the handler gets up near the dog.
- Scattered turkeys will often want to regroup after the flush.
- The handler may help the dog in order to allow the gunners and himself to get within gun range for the flush.
Derivatives
flushable
flusher
/ noun ...- If the building only contains manual toilet flushers instead of the self-flushers, then there should be an alarm above the toilet that sounds every time there is no flush.
- They'll work the phones and canvass the neighborhoods, and on election day, they'll send flushers out to drag voters to the polls.
- The animals still at the zoo were starving and filthy, the zookeepers gone, the zoo stripped of everything from cleaning supplies to toilet flushers.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'move rapidly, spring up', especially of a bird 'fly up suddenly'): symbolic, fl- frequently beginning words connected with sudden movement; perhaps influenced by flash1 and blush.
Flush as in flushed cheeks, flush the lavatory was first recorded in the sense ‘move rapidly, spring up’, especially in the context of a bird’. It is symbolic, fl- frequently beginning words connected with sudden movement; perhaps, in this case, influenced by flash and blush. The sense ‘level with’ (mid 16th century) is probably the same word, probably from the image of a river running full and level with its banks. The term for a hand of cards all of the same suit is perhaps from French flux (formerly flus), from Latin fluxus ‘a flow’, and dates from the early 16th century. This specialized use may be compared with English run also used in cards contexts.
Rhymes
flush2
/flʌʃ/adjective
1Completely level or even with another surface: the gates are flush with the adjoining fencing...
- Cut each piece for a snug fit, and install them so that the top of the riser is exactly flush with the top of the stringer notch.
- I used regular wood screws and countersunk them in the PVC to allow a flush surface.
- Office cladding is designed as a vented, triple-glazed flush facade.
1.1(Of printed text) not indented or protruding: each line is flush with the left-hand margin...
- Second, center the entire page on the screen instead of having it flush left.
- Computer applications like Microsoft Word have us trained that PC-screen content is always flush left?
- Left alignment ensures all text is flush with left margin and ragged on the right margin.
1.2(Of a door) having a smooth surface, without indented or protruding panels or mouldings.When retracted, the gears were fully enclosed by mechanically operated flush doors....
- A flush door was kicked in and a neighbour crawled into the flat on his hands and knees and dragged the occupant to safety.
- A recently discovered block-and-shell bureau table by John Townsend - one of only two with a flush door - is said to have descended directly from the cabinetmaker.
2 [predicative] informal Having plenty of something, especially money: the banks are flush with funds...
- Did the young man, suddenly flush with success, bury his money in tomato cans in his back yard?
- The Government is so flush with cash that it cancelled the 2005 January bond tender.
- So, flush with cash from the power plant sales and the securitization, Judge went shopping.
Synonyms
well supplied with, replete with, overflowing with, bursting with, brimful with, brimming with, loaded with, overloaded with, abounding in, well provided with, well stocked with, rich in, abundant in, rife with;
crammed with, crowded with, packed with, jammed with, stuffed with, teeming with, swarming with, thick with, solid with, charged with, fraught with
informal jam-packed with, chock-a-block with, chock-full of, awash with
Australian/New Zealand informal chocker with
2.1(Of money) plentiful: the years when cash was flush...
- The port and claret were laid down in happier times, when cash was flush and planning for the future mattered.
- Don't rush to hire when sales turn strong and cash is flush.
- A lot of the projects were started when money was flush.
Synonyms
plentiful, abundant, copious, ample, profuse, superabundant, infinite, inexhaustible, opulent, prolific, teeming, in abundance
informal a gogo, galore
South African informal lank
literary bounteous, plenteous
adverb
1So as to be level or even: the screw must fit flush with the surface...
- The tail bumper, in retracted position, fitted flush with the fuselage surface.
- The device has a plastic box, which fits flush against a wall or ceiling.
- If operators are able to place a dish flush against a wall, whispers can be discerned.
2So as to be directly centred; squarely: Hodson caught him flush on the jaw with a straight right...
- A left hook caught him flush on the jaw and he staggered across the ring.
- If you get caught flush on the chin that's fair enough.
- This is a sign they've really caught the ball flush and created a strong, piercing ball flight.
verb [with object]
Fill in (a joint) level with a surface.If you're building perpendicular to an existing wall, lay the 2x4 plates next to each other and flush the ends....
- Grinding or shaving can be employed to flush the joint at the location of the panel assembly and fastener joint.
- Use a palm sander to flush the edge of the plywood in line with the doorframe.
Derivatives
flushness
- ‘We benchmarked the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS430 for gaps, fit, and flushness despite the fact that these are much more expensive cars,’ says Zellner.
- General Motors uses these sensors to manage the gap and flushness between the mounting brackets and glass in automotive sunroofs to reduce noise, and improve aerodynamics for fuel economy.
- Then someone pulls out a feeler gauge and measures the gaps and flushness.
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense 'perfect, lacking nothing'): probably related to flush1.
flush3
/flʌʃ/noun
(In poker or brag) a hand of cards all of the same suit.Three flushes: the back and middle hands are flushes, and the front hand is a three-card flush (three cards of one suit)....
- Four card flushes do not count in Table Top Cribbage.
- When comparing flushes, the highest card is compared first, then if these are equal the middle card, and finally if necessary the lowest.
Origin
Early 16th century: from French flux (formerly flus), from Latin fluxus 'a flow' (see flux: the use in cards can be compared with English run).
flush4
/flʌʃ/noun Ecology
A piece of wet ground over which water flows without being confined to a definite channel.The area will become a haven for people interested in the environment, and will boast a range of habitats including woodland, pasture, reservoirs, the brook and valleyside flushes....
- The snail lives around the flushes of natural springs in the Sand Dale area, where it feeds on the lush vegetation.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'marshy place'): variant of flash2.