Skip to main content
rate of flow

rate of flow

1 3.7
How much liquid passes a point in a given time
  • noun
  • /reɪt əv floʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tasa de flujo
  • Hydroelectric resources are limited: Cuban rivers have low heads, carry relatively small volumes of water, and are subject to uneven rates of flow throughout the year.
  • rate of flow control

Examples

  • Engineers from both companies worked together for roughly a year to develop a valve that could be quickly and easily installed and maintained, and that allowed them to adjust the rate of flow.

    Academic text (2004)
  • These variables, in turn, could be substituted into equations describing the total fluid volume and rate of flow in the system.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The fast rate of flow means PAM has much less time to grab onto nutrients.

    Academic text (2002)
  • As media pass across the sensing head, heat is conducted away proportional to the rate of flow.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Capacity in place determines, as Adelman (1990) models simply, a rate of flow of oil to the production well(s).

    Academic text (2001)
  • The next research step will focus on models of rates of flow and diffusion for this site under different hydrologic and climatological conditions.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The vane movement is transmitted to a display with a scale and pointer that indicates standard rate of flow measurements.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The unit features a microprocessor-based signal converter with a backlit display that continuously displays the rate of flow and total volume.

    Academic text (1998)
  • For example, high flood flows followed by mimicked natural rates of flow decline in the Oldman River of Alberta, Canada, resulted in a massive cottonwood recruitment that extended for more than 500 km downstream from the Oldman Dam.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The engineer measured the rate of flow of water through the pipe to ensure it met safety standards.

Synonyms

rate
vsrate of flow
2.1

The speed or amount at which something happens over time

is only about how much liquid passes a point per unit time
flow
vsrate of flow
188 1.0

A steady movement of liquid or gas

focuses on measured quantity passing a point per unit time
flow rate
vsrate of flow
  • Specialized
8 3.6

The amount of liquid or gas that passes a point in one minute

means the same but mentions area as well as point

How Much

gush
6 4.3
rush
518 1.8
stream
150 1.0
rate of flow
  • Specialized
1 3.7
to trickle
70 3.4
dribble
4 3.1

Surface Forms

rate of flow singular
rates of flow plural

Morphology

rate + of + flow

The meaning is directly compositional: 'rate' (measured amount per unit) applied to 'flow' (continuous movement of a liquid) with the linking preposition 'of' yields the quantity of fluid passing per unit time. This is a common, cross-linguistic measurement construction and a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun rate of flow comes from the simple image of watching water move: rate means how fast and flow means the movement of a liquid. So rate of flow is a way to say 'how much' liquid passes a point in a set time.