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fly
flu-o-rine /'fluəri:n/ n [U] a non-metallic substance, usually in the form of a poisonous pale greenish-yellow gas
flu-o-ro-car-bon /ˌfluərəʊ'kɑ:bɒnll-'kɑ:r-/ n any chemical which contains the simple substances FLUORINE and CARBON in a particular atomic arrangement. Fluorocarbons are widely used in industry; and their presence in the air is thought to have damaged the OZONE LAYER. → see also CFC
flur-ry¹ /'flʌri'flɜ:ri/ n 1 [C] a sudden sharp rush of wind or rain or light fall of snow: snow flurries 2 [S(of)] sudden confusion or excitement: A flurry of excitement went round the hall as the party leader came in.
flurry² v [T often pass.] to confuse; make nervous and uncertain
flush¹ /flʌʃ/ n 1 [C] an act of cleaning with a sudden flow of liquid, especially water: The pipe is blocked; give it a good flush (out). 2 [C] an apparatus for cleaning a TOILET with a flow of water 3 [S] a red appearance of the face: The sick boy had an unhealthy flush and breathed with difficulty. → see also HOT FLUSH 4 [S+of] a sudden feeling of anger, excitement etc: a flush of anger/triumph. 5 in the first flush of in the first part of something pleasant: In the first flush of success he ordered drinks for everybody. | (euph or humor) She's no longer in the first flush of youth. (=is no longer young)
flush² v 1 [T(OUT)] to clean or drive out by a sudden flow of water: The waste pipe is blocked; try flushing it (out) with hot water. 2 [I;T] to (cause to) become empty of waste matter by means of a flow of water: The toilet won't flush; I've tried flushing it several times, but it won't work. 3 [T+obj+adv/prep] to make (someone) leave a hiding place: The police flushed the criminals out of their lair. | to flush birds from their hiding places 4 [I;T usually pass.] to (cause to) become red in the face: The young man flushed with embarrassment when his stomach rumbled loudly in the middle of the meeting. → see also FLUSHED
flush³ adj 1 [(with)] exactly on a level (with); even in surface: These cupboards are flush with the wall. (=they do not stick out) | a flush door 2 [F] infml having plenty of money: He felt very flush on his first payday, and bought drinks for everyone.
flush⁴ adv [+prep] 1 in a FLUSH way: The door fits flush into its frame. 2 infml exactly; fully: I hit him flush on the jaw.
flush⁵ n (in card games) a set of cards dealt to a person, in which all the cards belong to only one of the four different types (SUITS) → compare RUN²; see also ROYAL FLUSH
flushed /flʌʃt/ adj [F+with] excited and eager; filled with pleasure and pride: The soldiers, flushed with their first success, went on to gain another victory.
Flushing Meadows a park in Queens in New York City which is known especially as the place where the US Open tennis championships have been played every year since 1978. Its full name is 'Flushing Meadows-Corona Park'.
flus-ter¹ /'flʌstə/ v [T] to cause (someone) to be nervous and confused: The shouts of the crowd flustered the speaker and he forgot what he was going to say. | Take your time; don't get flustered.
fluster² n [S] a state of being flustered: I got in an awful fluster at the traffic lights, so I failed my driving test.
flute¹ /flu:t/ n a musical instrument of the WOODWIND family, with no REED, played by holding it sideways, and blowing across it
flute² v [T] to make long thin inward curves in (something) as a decoration, especially parallel curves along the whole length of a pillar: a fluted column | a pastry case with fluted edges
flut-ing /'flu:tɪŋ/ also flutings pl. — n [U] a set of hollow curves cut on a surface as decoration: The plates and dishes of this old dinner set are edged with fluting.
flut-ist /'flu:tɪst/ n AmE for FLAUTIST
flut-ter¹ /'flʌtə/ v 1 [I;T] (of a bird, an insect with large wings etc) to move (the wings) quickly and lightly: The bird fluttered her wings up and down, hoping to frighten the cat away from her eggs. | The butterfly fluttered from flower to flower. 2 [I] (of a thin object) to move by waving quickly and lightly: The flag fluttered in the wind. | The dead leaves fluttered to the ground. 3 [I;T] to (cause to) move in a quick irregular way: The boy's heart fluttered with excitement. | She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
flutter² n 1 [S] a fluttering movement: There was a flutter of wings among the trees. 2 [S] infml an excited condition; state of excited interest: The news of the Queen's visit to the factory put them in/into a flutter. 3 [C usually sing.] infml, especially BrE the risking of a small amount of money; a small BET: He likes to have a flutter on the horses. 4 [C] med an irregular movement of the heart 5 [U] tech a shaking movement that causes a fault in the action of a machine, especially in the wings of an aircraft or in a machine for playing recorded sound, causing faulty high sounds → compare WOW¹
flu-vi-al /'flu:viəl/ adj tech of, found in, or produced by rivers
flux /flʌks/ n [U] 1 continual change; condition of not being settled: Our future plans are very unsettled. Everything's in a state of flux. 2 a substance added to a metal to help melting, or to help in soldering (SOLDER) two pieces of metal together
fly¹ /flaɪ/ v flew /flu:/, flown /fləʊn/ 1 [I] to move or be moved through the air by means of wings: Most birds and some insects fly. | A bee flew in through the open window. | The damaged aircraft was flying on only one engine. 2 [I;T] to control and guide (an aircraft or similar vehicle) in flight: He was the first man ever to fly that type of aircraft. | She's learning to fly. (=to be a pilot) 3 [I] to travel by aircraft: Are you going by train or are you going to fly? | He's never flown before. 4 [T pass. rare] to use (a particular AIRLINE) for travelling by: I always fly British Airways. 5 [T] to carry or send (someone or something) in an aircraft: How many passengers does this airline fly weekly? | He's flying his car to Europe. 6 [T] to cross (a broad stretch of water) by means of flying: Louis Blériot was the first man to fly the English Channel. 7 [I] to pass up into or through the air as a result of the wind or some directed force: The player gave a great kick, and the football flew across the field. | Arrows were flying thick and fast from the fort. | (fig.) Angry words were flying as the crowd grew more and more threatening. 8 [I;T] to (cause to) wave or float in the air while being fixed at one end: The national flag was flying from its pole. | The warship was flying the national flag. 9 [I] to pass rapidly; hurry; move at speed: The day has simply flown (by). | The train flew past. | I'm late; I must fly. (=leave quickly) 10 [I+adv/prep] to move suddenly and with force: The window flew open. | The head of the hammer was loose, and it flew off the handle. | (fig.) He flew into a temper/a rage when I mentioned her name. 11 [(from);T] to escape (from); FLEE: He was forced to fly the country. | The thief was flying from justice. 12 fly a kite BrE to say or do something in order to find out what the public opinion about a particular subject is 13 fly in the face of to intentionally act in opposition to (what is usual, reasonable etc); DEFY: Such behaviour flies in the face of convention. 14 fly off the handle infml to become suddenly and unexpectedly angry 15 Go fly a kite AmE Go away and stop being annoying! 16 knock/send someone/something flying a) to knock (someone) over or backwards b) to cause (something) to move through the air, especially by hitting it hard 17 let fly (at) a) to attack with blows or words b) to shoot → see also FLYING, FLYING COLOURS, as the crow flies (CROW¹); see DRIVE (USAGE)
fly at sbdy./sthg. || also fly into sbdy./sthg. AmE phr v [T no pass.] to attack suddenly and violently: The fierce dog flew at the postman.
fly² v flied [I] (in BASEBALL) to hit a FLY BALL, especially one that is caught by a player from the other team: He flies to right field and Smith catches the ball easily.
fly out phr v [I] (in BASEBALL) to be put OUT by hitting a FLY BALL which a player from the other team catches: He flied out to left field.
fly³ n 1 (often in comb.) a small flying insect with two wings, especially the HOUSEFLY 2 a hook that is made to look like a fly, used for catching fish 3 a FLYSHEET 4 a FLY BALL 5 fly in the ointment infml something that spoils the perfection of something, makes something less valuable, pleasurable etc: I've been offered a wonderful job - the only fly in the ointment is that the pay is not too good. 6 like flies infml in very large numbers: The plague raged through the city, and people were dying like flies. 7 on the fly AmE infml quickly; without stopping: She ate her sandwiches on the fly. 8 there are no flies on someone BrE infml someone is not a fool and cannot be tricked 9 I'd like to be a fly on the wall... spoken used in order to say that you are very interested in what people will