flour

flour — noun

1. a soft, pale powder made by grinding cereal grains such as wheat or rice; it is

1.nounA2
Definition

a soft, pale powder made by grinding cereal grains such as wheat or rice; it is the basic dry ingredient in baked goods like loaves, cakes, pastries, and noodles.

Example

Naoko sifted the flour into a large bowl before adding the sugar.

sift + flour collocation

Felipe bought a bag of whole-wheat flour to make his own bread.

whole-wheat flour

Common collocations
  • sift flour
  • dust with flour
  • plain flour
  • self-raising flour
  • whole-wheat flour
  • cup of flour
  • bag of flour
Synonyms
  • meal

    coarser grind, often of corn or oats, not as fine as flour

Grammar Patterns

flour + is + adjective (e.g. flour is sifted)

a cup / bag / kilo of flour

Usage Note

Uncountable — use 'some flour,' 'a bag of flour,' or 'a kilo of flour,' not 'a flour.' To count types, say 'a flour made from rye' or 'different flours.'

Common Mistakes

I need a flour to bake a cake.
I need some flour to bake a cake.
Flour is uncountable in English, so you cannot use 'a' before it alone.

2. a soft powder obtained by grinding starchy parts of plants such as potatoes, cas

2.nounB1
Definition

a soft powder obtained by grinding starchy parts of plants such as potatoes, cassava roots, almonds, or rice, used in cooking to thicken sauces or as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour.

Example

Piotr used potato flour to thicken the soup because he is gluten-intolerant.

potato flour for thickening

Rachid mixed tapioca flour with warm water to make a chewy dough.

tapioca flour

Common collocations
  • potato flour
  • tapioca flour
  • almond flour
  • coconut flour
  • rice flour
  • corn flour
  • thicken with flour
Synonyms
  • starch

    emphasises the chemical component; 'corn starch' and 'corn flour' are the same product in many regions but differ in the UK vs US

Grammar Patterns

[type] + flour (e.g. potato flour)

flour + made from + [plant part]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (GRAIN FLOUR): sense 2 covers flours that are NOT made from cereal grains. The word specifying the source (e.g. potato, almond, tapioca, rice) almost always comes before 'flour.'

flour — verb

Word family

  • floury
    adjectiveB2
  • flourless
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Flour, meal, starch, and semolina are all dry powders from plants, but they differ in grind and use. Flour is the finest grind, typically from wheat, and is the base of breads and cakes. Meal is coarser and usually made from corn (cornmeal) or oats (oatmeal); it has a gritty texture and is used for porridge or cornbread. Starch is the pure carbohydrate extracted from plants such as corn, potatoes, or tapioca, and is used mainly for thickening sauces — it is not a full substitute for flour in baking. Semolina is a coarse, yellow flour made from durum wheat and is the key ingredient in pasta and couscous. For everyday baking, flour is your standard choice; use meal when the recipe calls for a rustic texture, and pure starch when you need a clear, smooth thickener without the grain flavour.

flour ↗meal ↗starchsemolina

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • dust with flour
  • sprinkle with flour
  • coat with flour
  • roll in flour

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'flour' comes from Middle English 'flour,' meaning 'flower' — it was called the 'flower of the grain,' referring to the finest, purest part left after grinding and sifting. The spelling was deliberately kept different from 'flower' in the 1800s to avoid confusion. The ultimate root is Latin 'flos' (flower), which also gave us 'flora,' 'floral,' and 'flourish.'