n. & v.
n. 1 a flowing body of water, esp. a small river. 2 a the flow of a fluid or of a mass of people (a stream of lava). b (in sing. or pl.) a large quantity of something that flows or moves along. 3 a current or direction in which things are moving or tending (against the stream). 4 Brit. a group of schoolchildren taught together as being of similar ability for a given age.
v. 1 intr. flow or move as a stream. 2 intr. run with liquid (my eyes were streaming). 3 intr. (of a banner or hair etc.) float or wave in the wind. 4 tr. emit a stream of (blood etc.). 5 tr. Brit. arrange (schoolchildren) in streams. go with the stream do as others do. on stream (of a factory etc.) in operation. stream-anchor an anchor intermediate in size between a bower and a kedge, esp. for use in warping. stream of consciousness 1 Psychol. a person's thoughts and conscious reactions to events perceived as a continuous flow. 2 a literary style depicting events in such a flow in the mind of a character. streamless adj. streamlet n.
[ OE stream f. Gmc ]