flood

Flood

Flood, the
1. a story told in the Old Testament of the Bible about a great flood that covered the whole world. According to the story, God caused the Flood because he was angry with the people on Earth and wanted to punish them. He made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights, and most of the people and animals on Earth were killed. Only one man, Noah, and his family were saved. God told Noah to build an ark (=a large boat) and to take two of every kind of animal on the ark with him. When the rain stopped and the water level began to go down, Noah sent out a dove to look for land, and the bird returned carrying an olive branch to show that the land was reappearing.
2. before the Flood a very long time ago

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flood

I. flood1 W3 /flʌd/ verb
1. COVER WITH WATER [intransitive and transitive] to cover a place with water, or to become covered with water:
Towns and cities all over the country have been flooded.
The houses down by the river flood quite regularly.
2. RIVER [intransitive and transitive] if a river floods, it is too full, and spreads water over the land around it:
There are now fears that the river could flood.
3. GO/ARRIVE IN LARGE NUMBERS [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to arrive or go somewhere in large numbers SYN pour, flow:
Refugees are still flooding across the border.
Donations have been flooding in since we launched the appeal.
4. flood something with something to send a very large number of things to a place or organization:
a plan to flood the country with forged banknotes
5. be flooded with something to receive so many letters, complaints, or inquiries that you cannot deal with them all easily:
We’ve been flooded with offers of help.
6. flood the market to produce and sell a very large number of one type of thing, so that the price goes down
flood the market with
Car manufacturers have been accused of flooding the market with cheap cars.
7. LIGHT [intransitive and transitive] if light floods a place or floods into it, it makes it very light and bright
flood into
Light flooded into the kitchen.
flood something with something
The morning sun flooded the room with a gentle light.
8. FEELING [I always + adv/prep,T] if a feeling or memory floods over you or floods back, you feel or remember it very strongly
flood over/back
I felt happiness and relief flooding over me.
Memories of my time in Paris flooded back.
9. ENGINE [intransitive and transitive] if an engine floods or if you flood it, it has too much petrol in it, so that it will not start
flood somebody ↔ out phrasal verb
to force someone to leave their home because of floods
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THESAURUS

▪ wet to put water or another liquid onto something to make it wet. In spoken English, people will often use get something wet rather than wet: He wet the washcloth and washed Tom’s face.
▪ splash to make someone or something wet by making a lot of small drops of water fall onto them: The kids were playing around in the pool, splashing each other. | I accidentally splashed soup onto my shirt.
▪ soak to put something in water for a long time or to make something very wet – use this especially when something is put into water or the water comes up from underneath to make it wet: Soak the beans overnight before cooking. | The rain had come in through the bottom of our tent and completely soaked our clothes.
▪ drench to make someone or something extremely wet with a large amount of water – use this especially when water is poured or falls on something: He drenched us all with the hose. | Her shirt was drenched in sweat.
▪ saturate formal to completely cover or fill something with liquid, so that it is wet all the way through: Heavy rains had saturated the ground.
▪ flood to cover an area of land with a large amount of water: Farmers flood the fields in order to grow rice.
▪ moisten to make something slightly wet by putting a small amount of water or another liquid on it, especially to stop it from getting too dry: Add just enough water to moisten the cake mixture. | Tom paused and moistened his lips.
▪ dampen to make something slightly wet by putting a little water on it: Rain came in through the window, dampening the curtains.
II. flood2 noun
[Language: Old English; Origin: flod]
1. [uncountable and countable] a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry:
The village was cut off by floods.
the worst floods for over fifty years
2. [countable] a very large number of things or people that arrive at the same time
flood of
The UN appealed for help with the flood of refugees crossing the border.
3. in floods of tears crying a lot:
She came downstairs in floods of tears.
4. in flood a river that is in flood has much more water in it than usual
⇒ flash flood at flash3(1)
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THESAURUS

natural disasters

▪ earthquake a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage: A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. | It was the biggest earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest for 52 years.
▪ flood a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry: Bangladesh has been hit by a series of devastating floods (=very bad floods). | The crisis began with floods that covered one third of the countryside.
▪ drought a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live: The country experienced its worst drought this century. | In East Africa, three years of drought have left 10 million people in urgent need of food and water.
▪ famine a situation in which a large number of people have little or no food for a long time and many people die: Poor harvests led to famine. | 4,000,000 people are threatened by famine in northern Ethiopia.
▪ hurricane a storm that has very strong fast winds and that moves over water – used about storms in the North Atlantic Ocean: extreme weather such as hurricanes | Hurricane Andrew left southern Florida in ruins.
▪ typhoon a violent tropical storm – used about storms in the Western Pacific Ocean: A typhoon has hit the Philippines, lifting roofs off houses and uprooting trees.
▪ tsunami a very large wave, caused by extreme conditions such as an earthquake, which can cause a lot of damage when it reaches land: Thousands of people were killed in the tsunami. | Many Pacific earthquakes have generated tsunamis.