rate of flow
- noun
- /reɪt əv floʊ/
- Specialized
- 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
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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
The speed or amount at which something happens over time
A steady movement of liquid or gas
The amount of liquid or gas that passes a point in one minute
How Much
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
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.