floss
pronunciation
How to pronounce floss in British English:
UK [flɒs]
How to pronounce floss in American English:
US [flɔs]
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- Noun:
- a soft loosely twisted thread used in embroidery
- a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth
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- Verb:
- use dental floss to clean
Word Origin
- floss (n.)
- "rough silk," 1759, of uncertain origin, perhaps from French floche "tuft of wool" (16c.), from Old French floc "tuft, lock," from Latin floccus "tuft of wool" (see flock (n.2)). Or from a dialectal survival of an unrecorded Old English or Old Norse word from the root of fleece (n.). Compare the surname Flossmonger, attested 1314, which might represent a direct borrowing from Scandinavian or Low German. In "The Mill on the Floss" the word is the proper name of a fictitious river in the English Midlands. Meaning "fine silk thread" is from 1871, short for floss silk (1759). Dental floss is from 1872; the verb floss in reference to use of it is from 1909. Related: Flossed; flossing.
Example
- 1. Brush and floss your teeth and wash your face .
- 2. Brush after each meal and floss daily .
- 3. So you might as well floss .
- 4. One simple thing you can do to head off bacteria is floss your teeth .
- 5. Stress also leads to poor oral care ; more than 50 % of people don 't brush or floss regularly when stressed .