flush
/ˈflʌʃ/noun, verb, adjective, adverb
flush is spelled F-L-U-S-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, flush means “A group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of flush is flushes.
How many letters and syllables are in flush?
| Letters | 5: F-L-U-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th 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 flush?
Flush appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th 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 flush?
- /ˈflʌʃ/
As a noun (“A groundwater-fed marsh or peaty mire (which may be acidic…”): /flʌʃ/, /ˈflʌʃ/.
Flush 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-flush.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of flush
- flushes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- flushing participle, present
- flushed participle, past
- flusher comparative
- flushest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does flush mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc.
- 2
A sudden flowing; a rush which fills or overflows, as of water for cleansing purposes.
- 3
Particularly, such a cleansing of a toilet.
- 4
The process of clearing the contents of a buffer or cache.
- 5
A suffusion of the face with blood, as from fear, shame, modesty, or intensity of feeling of any kind; a blush; a glow.
- 6
Any tinge of red color like that produced on the cheeks by a sudden rush of blood.
the flush on the side of a peach; the flush on the clouds at sunset
- 7
A sudden flood or rush of feeling; a thrill of excitement, animation, etc.
a flush of joy
- 8
A line of poles or obstacles that a skier must weave between.
- 9
A groundwater-fed marsh or peaty mire (which may be acidic or basic, nutrient-rich or poor); (originally especially Scotland and Northern England) a (marshy) pool or seep, as in a field.
The inland distribution of Plantago maritima in Ireland and Britain is … generally associated with base-rich soils or with flushes in more acidic upland soils. … Many of these inland sites are on uplands of both acidic and basic rock. … ass
- 10
A hand consisting of all cards with the same suit.
verb
- 1
To cause to take flight from concealment.
The dogs flushed the deer from the woods.
- 2
To take suddenly to flight, especially from cover.
A covey of quail flushed from the undergrowth.
- 3
To cleanse by flooding with generous quantities of a fluid.
Flush the injury with plenty of water.
- 4
Particularly, to cleanse a toilet by introducing a large amount of water.
- 5
To become suffused with reddish color due to embarrassment, excitement, overheating, or other systemic disturbance, to blush.
The damsel flushed at the scoundrel's suggestion.
- 6
To cause to blush.
- 7
To cause to be full; to flood; to overflow; to overwhelm with water.
to flush the meadows
- 8
To excite, inflame.
- 9
To be cleansed by being flooded with generous quantities of water.
There must be somebody home: I just heard the toilet flushing.
- 10
To clear (a buffer or cache) of its contents.
adjective
- 1
Smooth, even, aligned; not sticking out.
Sand down the excess until it is flush with the surface.
- 2
Wealthy or well off.
He just got a bonus so he's flush today.
- 3
Ellipsis of flush left and right: a body of text aligned with both its left and right margins.
- 4
Full of vigor; fresh; glowing; bright.
- 5
Affluent; abounding; well furnished or supplied; hence, liberal; prodigal.
adverb
- 1
Suddenly and completely.
I landed flush on the couch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Flush in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lever, faire sortir , de niveau, aligné , en fonds, riche |
| German | Aufscheuchen , bündig, flächenbündig , aufscheuchen, aufjagen, auffliegen |
| Spanish | plano, alineado, al ras, raso, a ras , rico |
| Portuguese | descarga, autoclismo , dar descarga, puxar descarga , flush |
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 flush come from?
From Middle English flusshen, fluschen, of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal flusk (“to fly at, startle a bird out of the bush”) and flusker (“to flutter, fly irregularly”). Perhaps related to Middle English flasshen, flasschen, flaschen, see flash; or a Middle English blend of flowen (“to flow”) + guschen (“to gush”). Compare Saterland Frisian flutskje, German Low German flutschen, German flutschen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).