floc
floc — noun
1. a tiny, loose cluster of small particles held together in a liquid, formed when
a tiny, loose cluster of small particles held together in a liquid, formed when a chemical or physical process causes the particles to stick to one another — for example, the clumps that settle out during water purification.
Amelia adjusted the microscope focus and watched the flocs drift slowly across the glass slide.
countable noun, usually plural: flocs
Adding the right amount of polymer produces large, heavy flocs that sink to the bottom of the tank.
collocation: heavy flocs / large flocs
Each floc contained thousands of fine clay particles bound together by the treatment chemical.
If the flocs are too small, they slip through the filter and the outflow stays cloudy.
Under the microscope the flocs looked like small, fluffy clouds floating in the liquid.
- aggregate
broader term — any collection of particles, not necessarily loose or suspended in liquid
- clump
less technical, more general — a clump may be dry or form in any medium
- flocculant
not a synonym — this is the substance added to cause flocs to form, not the cluster itself
文法句型
floc + of + [material]
用法筆記
Technical term used mainly in water treatment, wastewater engineering, and chemistry. The plural form flocs is far more common than the singular, since the process typically produces many clusters at once.
常見錯誤
floc — verb
- flocpresent simple I / you / we / they
- flocs3rd person singular
- flocing-ing form
- flocedpast simple
1. to come together in a liquid and form small, loose clumps of particles — used wh
to come together in a liquid and form small, loose clumps of particles — used when the particles clump on their own or as a natural result of a treatment process.
When Reema raised the pH of the muddy sample, the clay particles flocced into visible grey clumps within minutes.
intransitive: [particles] floc
The clay particles floc naturally as the river water meets the saltwater of the estuary.
Niran noticed that the suspended solids had flocced into visible clumps after an hour of slow stirring.
In the lake, the algae cells floc together when summer temperatures rise, forming green clumps that float near the surface.
文法句型
[particles] + floc
用法筆記
Intransitive only — the particles themselves floc. To describe making something floc, use sense 2 (transitive). The past tense is flocced (double c), not floked.
常見錯誤
2. to add a substance or apply a process that makes small particles in a liquid clu
to add a substance or apply a process that makes small particles in a liquid clump together into flocs — for example, adding a polymer during water treatment to help remove dirt from the water.
The plant operator added a polymer to floc the fine particles that were clouding the water.
transitive: floc + direct object
Daichi designed a system that gently stirs the tank to floc the suspended sediment before filtration.
Samir watched the murky water clear as the treatment chemical flocced the suspended clay into heavy clumps that settled out.
Valentina tested three different polymers to see which one flocced the sediment fastest.
- coagulate
often implies a chemical reaction; floc usually implies physical clumping aided by a polymer or gentle mixing
- flocculate
the full-length technical verb meaning the same thing, more common in academic writing
文法句型
floc + [object: particles/solids/impurities]
用法筆記
Transitive only — someone or something flocs the particles. Distinguish from sense 1: in sense 1 the particles floc by themselves; in sense 2 an operator or chemical flocs them. Frequently used in the passive voice (the solids are flocced).