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   flush

   /flʌʃ/

   verb

   • 1. (of a person's skin, face, etc.) become red and hot, typically as the result of illness or strong emotion: "Rachel flushed angrily" Similar blushreddenturn/go pinkturn/go redturn/go crimsonturn/go scarletcolour (up)change colourcrimsontintburn uparchaic:mantleOpposite pale
   • ▪ make red and hot: "a wave of colour flushed his cheeks"
   • ▪ glow or cause to glow with warm colour or light: "the sky was flushed with the gold of dawn"
   • 2. cleanse (something, especially a toilet) by causing large quantities of water to pass through it: "she flushed the loo"
   • ▪ (of a toilet) be cleansed by flushing: "Cally heard the toilet flush"
   • ▪ remove or dispose of (an object or substance) by flushing: "I flushed the pills down the lavatory" Similar rinse (out)wash (out/down)sluiceswillcleansecleanhose (down)swabinformal:sloosh (down)
   • ▪ cause (a liquid) to flow through something: "0.3 ml of saline is gently flushed through the tube"
   • 3. drive (a bird, especially a game bird, or an animal) from its cover: "the grouse were flushed from the woods" Similar drivesend upchaseforcedislodgeexpelfrightenscare
   • ▪ cause to be revealed; force into the open: "they're trying to flush him out of hiding"
   • 4. (of a plant) send out fresh shoots: "the plant had started to flush by late March"

   noun

   • 1. a reddening of the face, skin, etc., typically caused by illness or strong emotion: "a flush of embarrassment rose to her cheeks" Similar blushreddeninghigh colourcolourrosinesspinknessruddinessbloomOpposite paleness
   • ▪ an area of warm colour or light: "the bird has a pinkish flush on the breast"
   • 2. a sudden rush of intense emotion: "I was carried away in a flush of enthusiasm"
   • ▪ a period when something is new or particularly fresh and vigorous: "he is no longer in the first flush of youth" Similar bloomglowfreshnessradiancevigourrush
   • ▪ a sudden abundance or spate of something: "the frogs feast on the great flush of insects"
   • ▪ a fresh growth of leaves, flowers, or fruit.
   • 3. an act of cleansing something, especially a toilet, with a sudden flow of water: "an old-fashioned toilet uses six or seven gallons a flush"
   • ▪ the device used for flushing a toilet: "he pressed the flush absent-mindedly"
   • ▪ denoting a type of toilet that has a flushing device.
   • ▪ a sudden flow: "the melting snow provides a flush of water"
   • 4. the action of driving an animal or game bird from its cover: "labradors retrieve the birds after the flush"

   Word Origin Middle English (in the sense ‘move rapidly, spring up’, especially of a bird ‘fly up suddenly’): symbolic, fl- frequently beginning words connected with sudden movement; perhaps influenced by flash1 and blush.

   Derivatives

   • 1. flushable adjective
   • 2. flusher noun

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • F

     4

   • L

     1

   • U

     1

   • S

     1

   • H

     4

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