plural flosses
1
a
: soft thread of silk or mercerized cotton for embroidery
b
2
: fluffy fibrous material
3
: a dance performed by repeating the sequence of movements of swinging one's straight arms with fisted hands to one side while moving the hips out to the other side, then reversing those movements in the opposite direction, and then reversing the movements again but with one arm passing in front of the body and the other arm passing behind the body
—often used with the
Today on Moves in Minutes we are going to learn how to do the very popular dance craze, the floss.—Jayden Rodrigues, on YouTube
flossed; flossing; flosses
: to use dental floss on
Floss your teeth one at a time, rubbing the floss against the side of the tooth in an up-and-down motion.—Mayo Clinic
1
: to use dental floss
flosses twice a day
2
: to perform the floss dance move (see floss entry 1 sense 3)
3
slang
: to make an ostentatious display of something : flex sense intransitive2b, show off
… going to jail for trying to get fast money just to floss on IG [=Instagram] as well. It's very sad.—@It_Aint__ME, on X, formerly Twitter
—often used with on to indicate the person, group, etc. at whom the display is directed… The guy is probably trying to floss on the lady he took shopping …—@tiiboi, on X, formerly Twitter
… Morris Day is … flossing on you …—@BlackXtian, on X, formerly Twitter
Note: Usage of this sense was popularized by its use in hip-hop lyrics and African American English.
Cite this Entry
“Floss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/floss. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.
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