stri:m n. & v. --n. 1 a
flowing body of
water,
esp. a
small river. 2 a
the flow of a
fluid or of a mass of
people (a stream of lava). b (in
sing. or pl.) a
large quantity of
something that flows or moves
along. 3 a
current or
direction in
which things are
moving or tending (against the stream). 4
Brit. a
group of schoolchildren
taught together as
being of
similar ability for a
given age. --v. 1 intr. flow or
move as a stream. 2 intr.
run with liquid (my eyes
were streaming). 3 intr. (of a
banner or
hair etc.)
float or
wave in the wind. 4 tr.
emit a stream of (blood etc.). 5 tr. Brit.
arrange (schoolchildren) in streams. øgo with the stream do as others do. on stream (of a
factory etc.) in
operation. stream-anchor an
anchor intermediate in size
between a bower
and a
kedge, esp. for
use in warping. stream of
consciousness 1 Psychol. a person's thoughts and
conscious reactions to events perceived as a
continuous flow. 2 a
literary style depicting events in
such a flow in the
mind of a
character. øøstreamless adj. streamlet n. [OE stream f. Gmc]
