a great flowing or overflowing of water, esp. over land not usually submerged.
any great outpouring or stream:a flood of tears.
Biblethe Flood, the universal deluge recorded as having occurred in the days of Noah. Gen. 7.
Oceanographythe rise or flowing in of the tide (opposed to ebb).
a floodlight.
[Archaic.]a large body of water.
v.t.
to overflow in or cover with a flood; fill to overflowing:Don't flood the bathtub.
to cover or fill, as if with a flood:The road was flooded with cars.
to overwhelm with an abundance of something:to be flooded with mail.
Automotiveto supply too much fuel to (the carburetor), so that the engine fails to start.
to floodlight.
v.i.
to flow or pour in or as if in a flood.
to rise in a flood; overflow.
Pathology
to suffer uterine hemorrhage, esp. in connection with childbirth.
to have an excessive menstrual flow.
bef. 900; Middle English flod (noun, nominal), Old English flōd; cognate with Gothic flōdus, Old High German fluot (German Flut)
flood′a•ble, adj. flood′er, n. flood′less, adj. flood′like′, adj.
1.See corresponding entry in UnabridgedFlood,flashflood,deluge,freshet,inundation refer to the overflowing of normally dry areas, often after heavy rains. Flood is usually applied to the overflow of a great body of water, as, for example, a river, although it may refer to any water that overflows an area:a flood along the river; a flood in a basement.A flashflood is one that comes so suddenly that no preparation can be made against it; it is usually destructive, but begins almost at once to subside:a flash flood caused by a downpour.Deluge suggests a great downpouring of water, sometimes with destruction:The rain came down in a deluge.Freshet suggests a small, quick overflow such as that caused by heavy rains:a freshet in an abandoned watercourse.Inundation, a literary word, suggests the covering of a great area of land by water:the inundation of thousands of acres.
8, 9.See corresponding entry in Unabridged inundate, deluge.