flood

Etymology

From Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from *plew- (“to flow”). Cognate with Scots flude, fluid, Saterland Frisian Floud, Dutch vloed, German Flut, Danish flod, Icelandic flóð, and Gothic 𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃 (flōdus).

noun

1. An overflow (usually disastrous) of water from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
   Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge. 2013-06-29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28
   China's Ministry of Water Resources Saturday warned that floods are expected to hit the country and called on relevant departments to make preparation. Heavy rains have hit parts of southern, eastern and central China since Wednesday, pushing water levels in some rivers well above warning lines, the ministry said. China entered its flood season on Saturday, four days earlier than previous years, and the country may suffer from more and stronger rain as well as floods with more extreme weather forecast for the flood season, the ministry warned. March 29, 2020, “China enters flood season”, in China Internet Information Center
2. (figurative) A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with.
   a flood of complaints
   Deregulation of financial markets laid the groundwork for the subprime crisis in the United States, while a badly designed euro contributed to the debt crisis in Greece, and the Schengen system of open borders made it difficult to control the flood of refugees in Europe. December 6, 2016, Francis Fukuyama, “The Dangers of Disruption”, in The New York Times
3. The flowing in of the tide, opposed to the ebb.
   It was ebb tide when she touched, and it was supposed that when the flood made she would float off again. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 217
4. A floodlight.
5. Menstrual discharge; menses.
6. (obsolete) Water as opposed to land.

verb

1. To overflow, as by water from excessive rainfall.
2. To cover or partly fill as if by a flood.
   The floor was flooded with beer.
   They flooded the room with sewage.
3. (figurative) To provide (someone or something) with a larger number or quantity of something than can easily be dealt with.
   The station's switchboard was flooded with listeners making complaints.
   Blackburn offered nothing going forward in the opening period and that continued after the break, encouraging City to flood forward. October 1, 2011, David Ornstein, “Blackburn 0 - 4 Man City”, in BBC Sport
   The iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct was flooded with blue light to show support for the National Health Service staff treating Coronavirus patients. April 22 2020, “Glenfinnan turns blue to honour NHS workers”, in Rail, page 9
4. (Internet, transitive, intransitive) To paste numerous lines of text to (a chat system) in order to disrupt the conversation.
   There's also a spam filter in the code now, so if someone attempts to flood people's screens with macros or a bot, everything after the first few lines is thrown away. 1998, Dr. Cat, “Furry web site plug”, in alt.fan.furry (Usenet)
5. To bleed profusely, as after childbirth.