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View synonyms for floss

floss

[ flaws, flos ]

noun

  1. the cottony fiber yielded by the silk-cotton tree.
  2. silk filaments with little or no twist, used in weaving as brocade or in embroidery.
  3. any silky, filamentous matter, as the silk of corn.


verb (used without object)

  1. to use dental floss on the teeth.

verb (used with object)

  1. to clean (the teeth) with dental floss.

floss

/ flɒs /

noun

  1. the mass of fine silky fibres obtained from cotton and similar plants
  2. any similar fine silky material, such as the hairlike styles and stigmas of maize or the fibres prepared from silkworm cocoons
  3. untwisted silk thread used in embroidery, etc


verb

  1. tr to clean (between one's teeth) with dental floss

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Other Words From

  • flosser noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of floss1

1750–60; probably < French floche, as in soie floche floss silk, Old French flosche down, velvet pile (of uncertain origin)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of floss1

C18: perhaps from Old French flosche down

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Example Sentences

After rationing the energy bars she brought with her, the lawyer tries to fish, stringing dental floss on a stick, and using an earring as a hook.

The advice you got as a kid — brush your teeth, floss, eat less candy — is still important.

Brush and floss properlyBrush your teeth for two minutes at least twice a day, or after you’ve eaten.

Avoid snapping floss down between your teeth, because that can traumatize your gums, Cooper said.

While water flossers can’t get into all the narrow spaces between teeth like string floss can, they do cover a larger surface area and, combined with flossing and brushing, help provide a complete cleaning for that fresh-from-the-dentist feeling.

And there is widespread suspicion that it has about as much substance and all the health benefits of a large bag of candy floss.

“100 Years Ago Teddy Roosevelt Got Shot in the Chest, Then Gave a Speech Anyway,” at Mental Floss Talk about an orator.

Oh, sure, Joe has a tendency to floss with his own shoelaces.

I will floss my teeth because chimps have been known to floss their teeth.

They are also rather fond of a fly made from a partridge's breast feather, and body of crimson floss silk.

Every person is familiar with candy floss, made at stands on fair grounds, or carnivals, in an expensive whirling machine.

As the sugar is melted, it will be spun out in floss form through the small holes into the pan receiver.

She took another bungling stitch in the petal of a white floss daisy.

I'd as soon let Floss loose among my birds' eggs as trust you two.

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flos ferrifloss hole