Definition

Verb: 1. To cause something to flow away by a sudden, strong stream of water: To use a rush of water to clean or remove something, typically by sending it through a drain or pipe. 2. To dispose of something by making it flow away with water: To get rid of an item, often waste, by using water to carry it down a drain.

Usage

This verb is transitive and typically requires an object (the thing being disposed of). It is often used in the context of plumbing, toilets, or cleaning. * Please flush the expired medicine down the toilet. * The plumber used a powerful hose to flush the debris down the drain.

Examples

• Basic Usage:
  • You should not flush sanitary products down the toilet.
  • He flushed the food scraps down the garbage disposal.
• Figurative/Causal Usage:
  • The heavy rain flushed the silt down the hillside and into the stream.

Advanced Usage

• "to flush something down": This is the standard phrasal verb construction. The object can be placed between "flush" and "down" or after "down," though placing it between is more common.
  • Flush it down. (Common)
  • Flush down the old paint. (Also correct)

Variants and Related Words

• Flush (verb): To cleanse or rid by a sudden flow of liquid. (e.g., )
• Wash down (phrasal verb): To clean by spraying with water; to aid in swallowing food or drink with a liquid. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Wash away
• Rinse away
• Dispose of via drainage

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Flush out: To force something or someone out of hiding or a concealed place, often with water or pressure.
  • The police used tear gas to flush out the suspect.

Related Idioms

• Down the drain: Wasted or lost.
  • All our hard work went down the drain. (Note: This idiom uses the concept of something being flushed away but is not a direct use of the phrasal verb "flush down.")

Verb

1. flow freely
   • The body washed down the river