reflux
reflux Lexical Profile
reflux Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An abnormal backward flow of a bodily fluid, especially the return of acidic stomach contents into the esophagus.
"The physician recommended dietary changes to help manage the patient's chronic acid reflux."
The process of boiling a liquid in a vessel attached to a condenser so that the vapors continuously condense and return to the boiling mixture.
"The organic synthesis required heating the reaction mixture under reflux for several hours."
A flowing back or ebbing of a liquid, tide, or current.
"Coastal engineers studied the daily flux and reflux of the tides before constructing the seawall."
• verb
To boil or heat a liquid in an apparatus with an attached condenser so that the vapor continuously condenses and flows back into the vessel.
"The chemist refluxed the solution overnight to ensure the chemical reaction reached completion."
To flow back or return in an opposite direction (especially of a bodily fluid or chemical vapor).
"A weakened sphincter valve can allow gastric acid to reflux into the lower esophagus."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late Middle English period from Old French or Medieval Latin 'refluxus', derived from Latin 'refluere' meaning 'to flow back', from 're-' (back) and 'fluere' (to flow).