Flush Meaning
/ˈflʌʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc.
verbTo cause to take flight from concealment.
Sentence Examples
Tom is flush with money since he got paid today.
Don't forget to flush the toilet.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After using the toilet, please remember to ____ the waste down.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her cheeks began to ____ with embarrassment when she realized she had made a silly mistake.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As when a Faulcon hath with nimble flight / Flowne at a flush of Ducks foreby the brooke […]."
— 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
"But then as little VVrens but nevvly fledge, / […] / His fellovv noting his agilitie, / Thinkes he as vvell may venter as the other, / So fluſhing from one ſpray vnto another, / Gets to the top, and then enbold'ned flies, / Vnto an height paſt ken of humane eyes: […]"
— 1613, William Browne, “The Fourth Song”, in Britannia’s Pastorals. [The First Booke], London: […] Geo[rge] Norton, […], →OCLC, page 83:
"The birds seem to lie very close and must be nearly stepped on before they will flush."
— 1926, Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Birds: Marsh Birds, page 336:
"AWACS is survivable due to its ability to flush on warning, to maneuver at jet speeds, to maintain awareness of the developing air situation and to command weapons as appropriate, including weapons for its own defense."
— 1972, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Department of Defense, Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1973, page 460:
"In 1952, Fawcett Books was flush with the unprecedented success of Women's Barracks."
— 2001, Susan Stryker, Queer Pulp, page 54:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After using the toilet, please remember to ____ the waste down.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Her cheeks began to ____ with embarrassment when she realized she had made a silly mistake.