floss

4 definitions found

floss - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Floss \Floss\, n. [Cf. G. floss a float.]
     1. A small stream of water. [Eng.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Fluid glass floating on iron in the puddling furnace,
        produced by the vitrification of oxides and earths which
        are present.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Floss hole.
        (a) A hole at the back of a puddling furnace, at which the
            slags pass out.
        (b) The tap hole of a melting furnace. --Knight.
            [1913 Webster]

  Floss \Floss\ (?; 195), n. [It. floscio flabby, soft, fr. L.
     fluxus flowing, loose, slack. See Flux, n.]
     1. (Bot.) The slender styles of the pistillate flowers of
        maize; also called silk.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Untwisted filaments of silk, used in embroidering.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A body feather of an ostrich. Flosses are soft, and gray
        from the female and black from the male.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     Floss silk, silk that has been twisted, and which retains
        its loose and downy character. It is much used in
        embroidery. Called also floxed silk.
  
     Floss thread, a kind of soft flaxen yarn or thread, used
        for embroidery; -- called also linen floss, and floss  yarn
        . --McElrath.
        [1913 Webster]

floss - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  floss
      n 1: a soft loosely twisted thread used in embroidery
      2: a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth [syn:
         dental floss, floss]
      v 1: use dental floss to clean; "floss your teeth after every
           meal"

floss - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  33 Moby Thesaurus words for "floss":
     blubber, breeze, butter, clay, cushion, dough, down, eiderdown,
     feather bed, feathers, fleece, flue, fluff, foam, fur, fuzz, kapok,
     lint, pile, pillow, plush, pudding, puff, putty, rubber, satin,
     silk, swansdown, thistledown, velvet, wax, wool, zephyr