Meaning of flood In English

• 0 to cause to fill or become covered with water, especially in a way that causes problems:

  • Our washing machine broke down yesterday and flooded the kitchen.

  • The whole town flooded when the river burst its banks.

  • Several families living by the river were flooded out (= forced to leave their houses because they became covered with water).

• 1 to fill or enter a place in large numbers or amounts:

  • Donations are flooding into the homeless shelter.

  • She drew back the curtains and the sunlight came flooding in.

  • Japanese cars have flooded the market (= a lot of them are on sale).

  • He was flooded with (= suddenly felt a lot of) joy when his first child was born.

  • For Proust, the taste of a madeleine brought childhood memories flooding back (= made him suddenly remember a lot of things).

• 2 a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry:

  • After the flood it took weeks for the water level to go down.

  • The river is in flood (= water has flowed over its banks) again.

  • I found her in floods of tears in the toilets.

• 3 a large amount or number of something:

  • A flood of cheap imports has come into the country.

• 4 to fill or become covered with water or to cause this to happen to something:

  • [ T ] A burst pipe flooded the bathroom.

  • [ I ] The basements of many downtown buildings would flood whenever it rained.

• 5 to fill or be filled with a large amount or too much of something:

  • [ I always + adv/prep ] Sunlight floods in through a skylight in the ceiling.

  • [ I always + adv/prep ] In the 1960s, Cuban immigrants began to flood into Florida.

  • [ T ] We don’t want them to flood the market with cheap imports.

• 6 a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry:

  • Kingston was heavily damaged by a flood.

• 7 a large amount or number of something:

  • Planners are hoping for a flood of visitors when the center opens.

  • He was filled with a flood of new emotions.

• 8 to enter or leave a place in large numbers or amounts:

  • Record public spending, fueled by high oil prices, is flooding the country's flourishing economy with cash.

  • Electronic gadgets have flooded the market in recent years.

  • flood in from somewhere Turnover continues to increase as orders flood in from around the world.

  • flood into/out of sth Foreign money has been flooding into the London property market for several years now.

• 9 to send something such as letters, emails, or requests in large numbers to a person or organization:

  • Unwanted email – or spam – is flooding inboxes at an unprecedented rate.

  • be flooded with orders/requests/calls The phone lines were flooded with calls from worried and angry consumers.

  • flood sth with sth Overseas students continue to flood colleges with applications for courses.

• 10 a large number or amount of people or things:

  • Fund managers are surprised how quickly the trickle of money leaving the country has become a flood.

  • a flood of sth A bumper harvest coupled with a flood of imports have pushed the price of sugar lower.