# flour

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈflaʊ̯.ə/ · frequency rank #7,135

## Definitions
1. Powder obtained by grinding or milling cereal grains, especially wheat, or other foodstuffs such as soybeans and potatoes, and used to bake bread, cakes, and pastry.
2. The food made by grinding and bolting cleaned wheat (not durum or red durum) until it meets specified levels of fineness, dryness, and freedom from bran and germ, also containing any of certain enzymes, ascorbic acid, and certain bleaching agents.
3. Powder of other material.
4. Obsolete form of flower.

## Etymology
Spelled (until about 1830) and meaning flower in the sense of flour being the "finest portion of ground grain" (compare French fleur de farine, fine fleur). Doublet of fleur, flor, and flower. Partially displaced native meal.
The U.S. standard of identity comes from 21CFR137.105.

## Easily confused with
- **for** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-for)
- **fur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-fur)
- **flu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flu)
- **fou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-fou)
- **four** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-four)
- **flow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flow)
- **foul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-foul)
- **flux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flux)
- **flue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flue)
- **flows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flows)
- **flown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flown)
- **Floyd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-floyd)
- **flyer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flyer)
- **flower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flour-vs-flower)
- **Flo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flo-vs-flour)
- **flop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flop-vs-flour)
- **flor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flor-vs-flour)
- **flog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flog-vs-flour)
- **floor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/floor-vs-flour)
- **flood** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flood-vs-flour)

## Common misspellings (7)
`fflour`, `fllour`, `floru`, `flourr`, `fluor`, `folur`, `lfour`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/flour