floss

1 of 2

noun

ˈfläs 

ˈflȯs

plural flosses

1

a

: soft thread of silk or mercerized cotton for embroidery

b

: dental floss

2

: fluffy fibrous material

3

: a dance performed by repeating the sequence of movements of swinging one's straight arms with fisted hands to one side while moving the hips out to the other side, then reversing those movements in the opposite direction, and then reversing the movements again but with one arm passing in front of the body and the other arm passing behind the body

—often used with the

Today on Moves in Minutes we are going to learn how to do the very popular dance craze, the floss.

—Jayden Rodrigues, on YouTube

floss

2 of 2

verb

flossed; flossing; flosses

transitive verb

: to use dental floss on

Floss your teeth one at a time, rubbing the floss against the side of the tooth in an up-and-down motion.

—Mayo Clinic

intransitive verb

1

: to use dental floss

flosses twice a day

2

: to perform the floss dance move (see floss entry 1 sense 3)

3

slang : to make an ostentatious display of something : flex sense intransitive2b, show off

… going to jail for trying to get fast money just to floss on IG [=Instagram] as well. It's very sad.

—@It_Aint__ME, on X, formerly Twitter

—often used with on to indicate the person, group, etc. at whom the display is directed

… The guy is probably trying to floss on the lady he took shopping …

—@tiiboi, on X, formerly Twitter

… Morris Day is … flossing on you …

—@BlackXtian, on X, formerly Twitter

Note: Usage of this sense was popularized by its use in hip-hop lyrics and African American English.

Synonyms of floss

Noun

• fur
• pile

Examples of floss in a Sentence

Noun

used cotton floss to simulate Santa's beard

Verb

My dentist told me I should floss more often.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With the candy-floss hair and knock-‘em-out curves, Dolly Parton has made a living off her bawdy, larger-than-life image. — Sacbee.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Using a wide-eye needle and embroidery floss, sew all around the fold to create a channel. — Jodi Levine, Parents, 21 Aug. 2026

Verb

Brushing properly and flossing daily are the cornerstones of oral hygiene. — Mark Gurarie, HEALTH, 6 Aug. 2026

According to the Cleveland Clinic, recovery can take between one and two weeks, during which patients are also advised to avoid exercise, hard foods, and flossing along the gum line. — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 27 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably borrowed from Occitan (Languedoc or an adjacent area) flos "loose, untwisted (of silk)," going back to Latin fluxus "flowing, liquid, flabby, soft," from past participle of fluere "to flow" — more at fluid entry 1

Note: The English word apparently first occurs in Samuel Pullein's The Culture of Silk: Or, an Essay on its Rational Practice and Improvement (London, 1758). Pullein is unclear as to his sources, but he seems to have been familiar with silk production and the cultivation of mulberry trees in southeastern France and northwestern Italy. He uses the word both as an independent noun and in the collocation floss silk, which corresponds to French soie floche, Occitan sedo flusso (thus in Mistral, Lou tresor dóu Felibrige), and Italian seta floscia. French floche, which on phonetic grounds is unlikely to be the direct source of the English word, is traced to Gascon in Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, though Gascony was not a major center of silk production.

Verb

derivative of floss entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1759, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1921, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing floss

• candy floss
• dental floss

Rhymes for floss

• blas
• bos
• boss
• bosse
• clos
• crosse
• dos
• doss
• dross
• foss
• fosse
• gloss

Kids Definition

floss

1 of 2 noun

ˈfläs 

ˈflȯs

1

a

: soft silk or cotton thread used for embroidery

b

: dental floss

2

: fluffy material full of fibers

floss

2 of 2 verb

: to use dental floss on (one's teeth)

Medical Definition

floss

1 of 2 noun

ˈfläs, ˈflȯs 

: dental floss

floss

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to use dental floss on (one's teeth)

the correct way to floss your teeth

intransitive verb

: to use dental floss

flosses daily