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Added 9 October 2026

flush

/ˈflʌʃ/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about flush at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc.

verb

To cause to take flight from concealment.
The dogs flushed the deer from the woods.
To take suddenly to flight, especially from cover.
A covey of quail flushed from the undergrowth.

adjective

Smooth, even, aligned; not sticking out.
Sand down the excess until it is flush with the surface.
Wealthy or well off.
He just got a bonus so he's flush today.
Ellipsis of flush left and right: a body of text aligned with both its left and right margins.

adverb

Suddenly and completely.
I landed flush on the couch.

Origin

From Middle English flusshen, fluschen, of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal flusk (“to fly at, startle a bird out of the bush”) and flusker (“to flutter, fly irregularly”). Perhaps related to Middle English flasshen, flasschen, flaschen, see flash; or a Middle English blend of flowen (“to flow”) + guschen (“to gush”). Compare Saterland Frisian flutskje, German Low German flutschen, German flutschen.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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