floss

1 of 2

noun

ˈfläs 

ˈflȯs

1

a

: soft thread of silk or mercerized cotton for embroidery

b

: dental floss

2

: fluffy fibrous material

floss

2 of 2

verb

flossed; flossing; flosses

transitive verb

: to use dental floss on

intransitive verb

: to use dental floss

Synonyms

Noun

• down
• fluff
• fur
• fuzz
• lint
• nap
• pile

Examples of floss in a Sentence

Noun

used cotton floss to simulate Santa's beard

Verb

My dentist told me I should floss more often.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Similar to using tongs to squeeze citrus fruits, cutting cake with floss or dicing avocados with a cooling rack, turkey basters also have some untapped kitchen potential. —Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 6 Nov. 2024

The originals involved nails, but our take is just embroidery floss threaded through holes poked in the lid of a paper mache box. —Katy Kiick Condon, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Oct. 2024

Verb

Gone are the days of Ami Cusack cutting down men without hesitation or Natalie Bolton flossing her teeth with Jason Siska’s jugular. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2024

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, will live to floss for one more season. —EW.com, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably borrowed from Occitan (Languedoc or an adjacent area) flos "loose, untwisted (of silk)," going back to Latin fluxus "flowing, liquid, flabby, soft," from past participle of fluere "to flow" — more at fluid entry 1

Note: The English word apparently first occurs in Samuel Pullein's The Culture of Silk: Or, an Essay on its Rational Practice and Improvement (London, 1758). Pullein is unclear as to his sources, but he seems to have been familiar with silk production and the cultivation of mulberry trees in southeastern France and northwestern Italy. He uses the word both as an independent noun and in the collocation floss silk, which corresponds to French soie floche, Occitan sedo flusso (thus in Mistral, Lou tresor dóu Felibrige), and Italian seta floscia. French floche, which on phonetic grounds is unlikely to be the direct source of the English word, is traced to Gascon in Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, though Gascony was not a major center of silk production.

Verb

derivative of floss entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1759, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1974, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing floss

• candy floss
• dental floss

Kids Definition

floss

1 of 2 noun

ˈfläs 

ˈflȯs

1

a

: soft silk or cotton thread used for embroidery

b

: dental floss

2

: fluffy material full of fibers

floss

2 of 2 verb

: to use dental floss on (one's teeth)

Medical Definition

floss

1 of 2 noun

ˈfläs, ˈflȯs 

: dental floss

floss

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to use dental floss on (one's teeth)

the correct way to floss your teeth

intransitive verb

: to use dental floss

flosses daily