flood
/flʌd/noun, verb
flood is spelled F-L-O-O-D: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, flood means “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” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of flood is floods.
How many letters and syllables are in flood?
| Letters | 5: F-L-O-O-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 22 times per million words; the 4,015th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is flood?
Flood appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce flood?
- /flʌd/
- /flʊd/
Flood has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-flood.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of flood
- floods plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- flooding participle, present
- flooded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does flood mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
- 2
A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with.
a flood of complaints
- 3
The flowing in of the tide, opposed to the ebb.
- 4
A floodlight.
- 5
Menstrual discharge; menses.
- 6
obsoleteWater as opposed to land.
verb
- 1
To overflow, as by water from excessive rainfall.
People flooded into the streets in protest.
- 2
To cover or partly fill as if by a flood.
The floor was flooded with beer.
- 3
To provide (someone or something) with a larger number or quantity of something than can easily be dealt with.
The station's switchboard was flooded with listeners making complaints.
- 4
To paste numerous lines of text to (a chat system) in order to disrupt the conversation.
- 5
To bleed profusely, as after childbirth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Flood in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inondation , inonder , submerger, noyer , flooder |
| German | Flut, Überflutung, Überschwemmung, Hochwasser , überschwemmen, überfluten |
| Portuguese | cheia, enchente, inundação , transbordar , dilúvio, enxurrada |
| Spanish | inundación, avenida, riada, innundación , inundar , diluvio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does flood come from?
Inherited from Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-. Cognate with Scots flude, fluid, Saterland Frisian Floud, Dutch vloed, German Flut, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish flod, Icelandic flóð, and Gothic 𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃 (flōdus).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).