floss

IPA/flɒs/
KK[flˈɑs]IPA/flɑːs/

floss — noun

1. a thin cord that you slide between your teeth to remove trapped food and help ke

1.nounB1
Definition

a thin cord that you slide between your teeth to remove trapped food and help keep your gums clean.

Example

After lunch, Jin pulled a piece of floss from the bathroom drawer.

a piece of floss

The dentist gave Noor floss and showed the steps on a model.

give someone floss

Common collocations
  • dental floss
  • a piece of floss
  • keep floss in your bag
  • use floss after meals
Synonyms
  • dental tape

    a wider flat form of the same cleaning material

  • floss pick

    a small plastic tool that holds a short piece of floss

Grammar Patterns

use floss

a piece of floss

Usage Note

Usually treated as a material noun in everyday speech, so people often say 'use floss' rather than 'use a floss'. A countable form is more natural when you mean one strand or one floss pick.

Common Mistakes

I used a floss after lunch.
I used floss after lunch.
this material noun is usually uncountable unless you mean a single strand or tool.

2. soft fine fibre, or thread made from it, used in embroidery and other delicate s

2.nounC1
Definition

soft fine fibre, or thread made from it, used in embroidery and other delicate sewing.

Example

Ayana stitched blue flowers with silk floss along the edge of the pillow.

silk floss

The shop sold floss in bright colors for friendship bracelets and key rings.

floss in bright colors

Common collocations
  • embroidery floss
  • silk floss
  • bright floss
  • loose floss
Synonyms
  • embroidery thread

    the most direct everyday term for the sewing use

  • fibre

    broader word for the soft material before it is twisted into thread

Grammar Patterns

embroidery floss

floss in bright colors

Usage Note

This sense can name either the soft material itself or the decorative thread made from it. Distinguish it from sense 1, which is specifically for cleaning between the teeth.

3. an internet dance in which the arms swing from front to back while the hips move

3.nounB2
Definition

an internet dance in which the arms swing from front to back while the hips move the other way.

Example

At the school show, Andrew taught the younger children the floss during music break.

teach someone the floss

A short video of Constanza doing the floss spread across the class chat.

do the floss

Common collocations
  • do the floss
  • learn the floss
  • practice the floss
  • a quick floss
Synonyms
  • dance move

    broader term for one named action in a dance

  • viral dance

    stresses the online popularity rather than the exact motion

Grammar Patterns

do the floss

learn the floss

Usage Note

Usually appears with 'the' because speakers treat it as the name of one specific dance. It is strongly tied to internet and school-performance contexts.

floss — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

For tooth care, floss is more specific than brush. You brush the front, back, and top surfaces of the teeth, but you floss the narrow spaces where a brush often cannot reach well. Rinse and mouthwash can freshen the mouth and wash away loose food, yet they do not usually pull trapped pieces out from between the teeth. A pick or floss pick can do similar cleaning, but it names the small tool rather than the action itself. In daily advice, people often say 'brush and floss' to show that flossing is a second step, not a replacement. You might brush after breakfast, floss before bed, and use mouthwash when you want a cleaner taste.

brush ↗rinsepick ↗mouthwash ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Verbs

  • use floss
  • floss your teeth

Phrases

  • do the floss
  • the floss dance

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

Floss first meant soft thread, especially silk or cotton thread used for sewing or embroidery. That idea of a thin thread later gave English the dental sense, because the material is moved between the teeth in a similar way. The dance use is much newer and comes from internet culture.

First known use

1759

1759, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Verb