flex
pronunciation
How to pronounce flex in British English:
UK [fleks]
How to pronounce flex in American English:
US [fleks]
-
- Noun:
- the act of flexing
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- Verb:
- contract
- exhibit the strength of
- form a curve
- bend a joint
- cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form
Word Origin
- flex (v.)
- 1520s, "to bend," usually of muscles, probably a back-formation from flexible. Related: Flexed; flexing.
Example
- 1. As you slowly return to the starting position , turn your palms toward the ceiling , flex your arms and curl the dumbbells in toward your shoulders .
- 2. Scientists have long speculated that ocean waves could cause an ice shelf to flex and break , but this is the first time researchers have observed a tsunami having this effect .
- 3. When a knife cuts your skin , it leaves a relatively clean cut compared to paper , which will flex a little and do more microscopic damage to the skin .
- 4. During yawning , the walls of the maxillary sinuses ( located in the cheeks on each side of the nose ) flex like bellows and help with brain cooling , according to the researchers .
- 5. The severing at these points causes nerve damage that makes the wrist flex and the fingers curl up in the manner of a waiter taking a backhanded tip .