floss
floss
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "floss" is /flɒs/.
Syllable Breakdown
The word "floss" has only one syllable.
/flɒs/:
/f/: Voiceless labiodental fricative (like the 'f' in 'fan').
/l/: Alveolar lateral approximant (like the 'l' in 'light').
/ɒ/: Open-mid back rounded vowel (like the 'o' in 'lot' in some accents, or a sound similar to the 'aw' in 'dawn' in others, typically the vowel sound in words like 'floss' in many accents).
/s/: Voiceless alveolar fricative (like the 's' in 'sun').
Word Form Variations
The word "floss" can function as both a noun and a verb.
Noun (Countable/Uncountable)
floss (singular/uncountable substance)
Noun (Plural)
flosses (plural of specific types or pieces)
Verb (Base Form)
floss
Verb (Third-Person Singular Present)
flosses
Verb (Present Participle/Gerund)
flossing
Verb (Past Simple/Past Participle)
flossed
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
1. Dental String:
Definition: A soft, thin strand of nylon or Teflon, typically waxed or coated, used to slide between the teeth to remove food particles and dental plaque for improved oral hygiene.
Synonyms: dental thread, interdental cleaner, string
Antonyms: None directly applicable
2. Fiber/Silk:
Definition: A mass of silky filaments, often used to refer to a soft, fibrous material such as the fine, untwisted silk used in embroidery or the downy fibers within certain plants (like milkweed floss).
Synonyms: silk, thread, fiber, down, filament
Antonyms: rope, wire, twine (materials that are hard or thick)
Verb
1. To Clean Teeth:
Definition: To clean the spaces between one's teeth using a piece of floss.
Synonyms: thread (teeth), clean, pick (teeth)
Antonyms: dirty, neglect (oral hygiene)
2. To Show Off (Informal/Slang):
Definition: To conspicuously display one's wealth, possessions, or status; to parade something luxurious or expensive.
Synonyms: show off, parade, flaunt, strut, boast
Antonyms: conceal, hide, downplay, minimize
Examples of Use
Noun Examples (The string used for cleaning)
News/Health Publication: "The American Dental Association recommends you floss at least once a day to remove plaque and food particles from between your teeth."
General Discourse/Consumer Advice: "I always buy the waxed mint-flavored floss; the unwaxed kind shreds too easily."
Literature/Instruction Manual: "The travel kit contained a miniature toothbrush, a small tube of paste, and a plastic dispenser of dental floss."
Product Naming (Online/Retail): Brands now offer alternatives like 'water flossers' or 'interdental picks' for those who dislike traditional string floss."
Verb Examples (The act of cleaning teeth)
Book/Memoir: "Every night before bed, she would brush for two minutes, and then diligently floss."
Magazine/Lifestyle: "It's best to floss gently, using a C-shape motion around each tooth, to avoid damaging your gums."
Medical Guidance (Poster/Online): "Did you remember to floss your teeth today?"
Verb Examples (Slang: To show off)
Entertainment/Music (Song Lyrics): "He drives a new sports car and wears designer clothes just to floss in front of his old neighbors."
Social Media/Online Discourse: "Look at them flossing their expensive vacation pictures all over Instagram."
Newspaper/Culture Commentary: "The term 'swag' has evolved, but the underlying motivation to floss—to show off one's wealth—remains constant in certain music and celebrity circles (The New York Times, May 2012)."
10 Famous Quotes Using Floss
"Never floss with a stranger." (Joan Rivers)
"I tried to find an angel, and I could barely find a hooker who liked to floss." (Jim Goad)
"I've been to the dentist several times so I know the drill, and they always tell me to floss." (Unknown/Dental Humor)
"You don't have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep." (Unknown/Common Dental Advice)
"Lying through your teeth does not count as flossing." (Unknown/Dental Humor)
"You want the tooth? You can't handle the tooth! Now floss!" (Parody of A Few Good Men)
"But once you start flossing, people get jealous." (G. Knight, Hood Rat, 2011, using the slang meaning of showing off)
"My teeth are kind of forgone by now, I don't have a lot left to floss." (Anonymous Reddit user, October 2015)
"She was glad of her uncle's money, which had enabled her to wear an expensive dress in London, and to floss in front of her school friends." (Original quote, consistent with common slang usage)
"Dental hygienists are the boss of the floss." (Common Dental Saying/Meme)
Etymology
The word "floss" comes into English with a few distinct meanings, but they all generally refer to a fine, soft, loose fiber.
Original Meaning (The Fiber):
The word was first borrowed into Middle English around the 15th century from the Old French word floche or flosche, which meant a lock, tuft, or flock of wool, silk, or hair.
This French term, in turn, came from the Latin word fluxus, meaning "loose" or "flowing," which connects to the idea of a soft, flowing, or non-tightly woven material.
First Known Use/Meaning: In English, its earliest documented meaning (around the 15th century) was "untwisted silk for embroidering" or a very soft, downy fiber, like the silky filaments you find inside certain plants.
The Dental Meaning:
The specific meaning of "string for cleaning teeth" is much more recent, only becoming common in the 19th century.
The practice of using thread for cleaning teeth existed earlier, but the specialized product called dental floss was popularized after being patented by an American dentist named Levi Spear Parmly in the early 1800s.
The substance got the name "floss" because it was (and still is) a soft, flexible, untwisted or lightly twisted fiber—exactly like the original meaning of the word for silk or cotton.
The Slang Meaning (To Show Off):
The modern slang meaning, "to show off" or "to parade one's wealth," is a very recent, American urban use, widely popularized in late 20th century Hip-Hop culture (starting around the 1980s or 1990s).
This slang usage is likely a metaphor: when someone is "flossing," they are metaphorically draping themselves in or displaying something luxurious (like a decorative silk/floss) for all to see.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Floss
Since there are very few widely established idioms using the word "floss," this list includes common dental-related phrases, a major modern slang usage, and supplemental original phrases derived from the word's core meanings (fine thread, cleaning, and showing off).
To floss like a boss: (Slang/Meme) To perform a task—usually the act of flossing one's teeth or showing off (flossing, in the slang sense)—with exceptional skill, confidence, or intensity.
Water floss: A specific type of dental cleaning device that uses a stream of pressurized water instead of a thread.
Floss and go: (Original/Dental context) A quick, minimalist approach to oral hygiene, implying one only takes the time to brush and floss before leaving.
To give someone the floss: (Original/Slang context) To deliberately show off expensive possessions or status to someone, often to provoke envy.
Floss on 'em: (Slang) A command or exhortation to confidently display one's wealth, style, or success to onlookers.
Milkweed floss: A term for the fine, silky, downy fibers attached to the seeds of the milkweed plant, illustrating the original meaning of the word as a fine fiber.
To have a floss fight: (Original/Humorous) To engage in a minor, trivial, or petty argument (from the idea of a very thin, weak object being used for a confrontation).
To be as fine as floss: (Original/Descriptive) To be extremely delicate, soft, or excellent in quality, referencing the texture of embroidery floss.
A clean, white floss of snow: (Original/Literary) A descriptive phrase using the noun to compare a light, soft layer of freshly fallen snow to a mass of soft fiber.
The boss of the floss: (Saying/Humorous Dental Marketing) A playful title for a dental hygienist or anyone who excels at the act of flossing.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of floss from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
