Link Centre Dictionary

floss

UK/flɒs/ US/flɔs/ uncommon slang uk
noun (2) verb (1)

noun

1.
2.

a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth

Synonyms

verb

1.

use dental floss to clean

  • “floss your teeth after every meal”

Origin

Unclear: * Possibly from French floche (“tuft of wool”), from floc, from Old French flosche (“down, velvet”), from Latin floccus (“piece of wool”), probably from Frankish *flokkō (“down, wool, flock”), from Proto-Germanic *flukkô (“down, piece of wool, flock”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“hair, fibres, tuft”). * Or, from Middle English *flos (attested in Middle English Flosmonger (a surname)), from Proto-West Germanic *fleus, related to English fleece. Cognate with Old High German flocko (“down”), Middle Dutch vlocke (“flock”), Norwegian dialectal flugsa (“snowflake”), Dutch flos (“plush”) (tr=17c.).

Phrases

  • ass floss
  • butt floss
  • candy floss
  • dental floss
  • fairy floss
  • floss hole
  • floss pick
  • floss silk
  • meat floss

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.