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# floss

«floss» in Mova's school dictionary: **a thin thread used to clean between your teeth** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (floss, dental floss — uncountable); verb (floss, flosses, flossed, flossing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Dental floss is a thin thread used to clean between your teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#m1)

2) To floss is to clean between your teeth with this thread. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#m2)

3) The floss is a dance where you swing your arms and hips from side to side. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#m3)

4) Candy floss (British) is a fluffy pink sweet made of spun sugar; Americans call it cotton candy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In health and hygiene, brushing cleans the surfaces of teeth, but flossing removes food and plaque from between them, where a brush cannot reach; this helps stop tooth decay and gum disease. Dentists say floss once a day, gently, using a clean piece of floss for each gap. Phrases: "dental floss", "floss your teeth", "a piece of floss", "candy floss", "do the floss".

### examples

- Floss between your teeth before bed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x1)
- The dentist showed me how to floss gently. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x2)
- I need a new box of dental floss. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x3)
- Flossing helps keep your gums healthy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x4)
- My gums bled a little when I first started to floss. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x5)
- We bought candy floss at the fair. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x6)
- Everyone did the floss dance at the party. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x7)
- Use a fresh piece of floss for each gap. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/#x8)

### note

As a material, "floss" is uncountable: "a piece of floss", not "a floss". Regular verb: flossed, flossing (double s). A little bleeding when you start flossing is common, but tell an adult if it goes on. Candy floss (UK, Ireland, Australia: "fairy floss" in Australia) = cotton candy (USA, Canada); it is mostly sugar, bad for teeth.

### In the corpora

- [A toothbrush cannot reach between the teeth, so floss or an interdental brush is used once a day.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/74-flossing-and-caring-for-teeth/4/)
- [Floss is slid gently between the teeth and curved around each tooth, because snapping it down hurts the gums.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/74-flossing-and-caring-for-teeth/5/)
- [About a third of each tooth's surface is between the teeth, where a brush cannot reach without floss.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/74-flossing-and-caring-for-teeth/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «floss» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/floss/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.