Word.ws English Dictionary

first flush

first flush noun: the first growth of buds, flowers, seeds, or whatever is harvested from a plant.

Noun

first flush (plural first flushes)

  1. The first growth of buds, flowers, seeds, or whatever is harvested from a plant.
    • But, because the first flush of growth is from a preformed bud and subsequent flushes are from buds developed during the current growing season, chilling directly affects only the first flush.1979, S. P. Wells, Chilling requirements for optimal growth of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir seedlings, page 2
    • Planting dates, soil moisture, nutrition, and pest management should be designed to protect the first flush of floral buds, flowers, and pods.1996, University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Blackeye Bean Prduction in California, page 4
  2. (broadly) The beginning; the period of time when something is first starting.
    • When however the first flush of our surprize is over we cannot fail to perceive that amid all this legerdemain there is a vast deal of nature united with that astonishing splendour of colouring which so many have tried to emulate.1836, Allan Cunningham, The Cabinet Gallery of Pictures by the First Masters of the English, page 189
    • And though his money was now gone again, all but a sovereign or two, yet that troubled him but little, in the first flush of being at sea.1849, Herman Melville, Redburn - His First Voyage
  3. (wastewater management) The flow of wastewater at the start of a storm or season, when runoff has the highest concentration of pollutants.
    • Several published data sets have been collected to evaluate the occurrence of a first flush of pollutants from urban watersheds.2005, Allen P. Davis, Richard H. McCuen, Stormwater Management for Smart Growth, →ISBN, page 148
    • For most catchments, first flushes must be expected.2006, Zaini Ujang, M. Henze, Municipal Wastewater Management in Developing Countries, →ISBN

Examples of first flush in a sentence

  • The first harvest, from the end of February to early April, is called the "first flush" and is when the tea with the finest aroma is collected.2006, Rose Marie Donhauser, Little Tea Book, →ISBN, page 14:
  • After harvesting the first flush, clean up all the withered pinheads and debris on the surface of the block.2010, Craig Wallin, Golden Harvest, →ISBN, page 53:
  • You're not old, Major, but you're not in the first flush.2015, Andrew O'Hagan, The Illuminations, →ISBN, page 142:
  • The amount of first flush that should be diverted varies considerably depending on how much dust has accumulated on a roof.2016, Gary Grant, The Water Sensitive City, →ISBN, page 133:

Forms of first flush

pluralfirst flushes

Questions about first flush

What does first flush mean?
First flush means the first growth of buds, flowers, seeds, or whatever is harvested from a plant.
How do you use first flush in a sentence?
The first harvest, from the end of February to early April, is called the "first flush" and is when the tea with the finest aroma is collected.
What part of speech is first flush?
First flush is a noun.
What is the plural of first flush?
The plural of first flush is first flushes.

Words near first flush in the dictionary

  1. first flight cover
  2. first flight covers
  3. first flights
  4. first floor
  5. first floors
  6. first flush
  7. first flushes
  8. first folio
  9. first folios
  10. first footing
  11. first freedom rights

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: first flush (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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