Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A flowing back; ebb.
  • noun Medicine Backflow, as of gastric acid into the esophagus.
  • noun Chemistry The process of refluxing.
  • intransitive verb To boil (a liquid) in a vessel attached to a condenser so that the vapors continuously condense for reboiling.
  • intransitive verb To be boiled in such a way.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A flowing back: as, the flux and reflux of the tides.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Returning, or flowing back; reflex.
  • noun A flowing back, as the return of a fluid; ebb; reaction.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the backwards flow of any fluid
  • noun chemistry a technique, using a reflux condenser, allowing one to boil the contents of a vessel over an extended period
  • verb To boil a liquid in a vessel having a reflux condenser

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an abnormal backward flow of body fluids
  • noun the outward flow of the tide

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin reflūxus : Latin re-, re- + Latin flūxus, flow, from past participle of fluere, to flow; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Turns out he had SEVERE reflux, which is probably why he stopped screaming as soon as he was pciked up and started again when he was put down … ugh!

    Hush | Her Bad Mother 2008

  • Turns out he had SEVERE reflux, which is probably why he stopped screaming as soon as he was pciked up and started again when he was put down...ugh!

    Hush 2008

  • Medical reasons like what's known as reflux or difficulty with heartburn at night to restless leg syndrome, where your legs feel creepy crawly and can't get still.

    CNN Transcript Mar 2, 2003 2003

  • There was now in one place, now in another, a strong _undertow_, as they called it -- a reflux, that is, of the inflowing waters, which was quite sufficient to carry those who could not swim out into the great deep, and rendered much exertion necessary, even in those who could, to regain the shore.

    The Seaboard Parish, Complete George MacDonald 1864

  • Observation research has shown that the elimination of H. pylori actually increases the risk of gastric reflux, which is itself associated with asthma as well as esophageal diseases.

    NYT > Home Page By KATE MURPHY 2011

  • The over-prescribing "owes a lot to advertising, specifically to use of the term 'acid reflux,'" Hassall wrote.

    FOXNews.com 2011

  • The over-prescribing "owes a lot to advertising, specifically to use of the term 'acid reflux,'" Hassall wrote.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • One of the causes of heartburn is acid reflux, which is when stomach acid flows up through the lower esophageal sphincter and irritates the esophagus.

    FOXNews.com 2011

  • One of its causes is acid reflux, which is when stomach acid flows up through the lower esophageal sphincter and irritates the esophagus.

    FOXNews.com 2011

  • These can include issues such as gastroesophageal reflux, which is a back flow of acidic acid of the stomach into the child's esophagus, and celiac disease, which causes the child to be allergic to gluten.

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en] Athorsteinson 2010

Comments

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  • Following flood the reflux deposits

    incongruously with plastic and rubber

    a dredged sparrow gibbeted four feet over

    the water pinned to a willow...

    - Peter Reading, Severn at Worcester, from For the Municipality's Elderly, 1974

    June 22, 2008