# flow

> English word · Noun · IPA /fləʊ/ · frequency rank #2,111

## Definitions
1. Movement in people or things characterized with a continuous motion, involving either a non solid mass or a multitude.
2. The movement of a real or figurative fluid.
3. A formalization of the idea of the motion of particles in a fluid, as a group action of the real numbers on a set.
4. The rising movement of the tide.
5. Smoothness or continuity.
6. The amount of a fluid that moves or the rate of fluid movement.
7. A flow pipe, carrying liquid away from a boiler or other central plant (compare with return pipe which returns fluid to central plant).
8. A mental state characterized by concentration, focus and enjoyment of a given task.
9. The emission of blood during menstruation.
10. The ability to skilfully rap along to a beat.
11. The sequence of steps taken in a piece of software to perform some action.

## Etymology
From Middle English flowe, from the verb (see below). The psychology sense “state of focus” was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975.

## Easily confused with
- **fo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fo)
- **FW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fw)
- **for** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-for)
- **fly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fly)
- **fox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fox)
- **flu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-flu)
- **fog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fog)
- **foe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-foe)
- **foo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-foo)
- **fro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fro)
- **fob** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fob)
- **FTW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-ftw)
- **foy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-foy)
- **foi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-foi)
- **fou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fou)
- **foh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-foh)
- **from** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-from)
- **food** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-food)
- **foot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-foot)
- **fool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-fool)

## Common misspellings (6)
`fflow`, `fllow`, `floww`, `flwo`, `folw`, `lfow`

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