I. stream 1 W3 /striːm/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . SMALL RIVER a natural flow of water that moves across the land and is narrower than a river ⇨ ↑ downstream , ↑ upstream
2 . CONTINUOUS SERIES a long and almost continuous series of events, people, objects etc
stream of
a stream of traffic
a stream of abuse
steady/constant/endless etc stream
A steady stream of visitors came to the house.
3 . AIR/WATER a flow of water, air, smoke etc, or the direction in which it is flowing:
A stream of cold air rushed through the open door.
⇨ ↑ Gulf Stream , ↑ jet stream
4 . come on stream especially British English to start working or producing something:
The new factory will come on stream at the end of the year.
5 . SCHOOL British English a level of ability within a group of students of the same age:
Kim’s in the top stream.
⇨ ↑ bloodstream , ↑ mainstream 1 , ↑ stream of consciousness
• • •
THESAURUS
■ a small river
▪ stream a small narrow river:
a cool mountain stream
▪ brook literary a small stream:
There was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks.
▪ creek a narrow area of sea that goes into the land, or a small river:
The River Fal with its many creeks was a perfect place for smugglers.
|
The kids hunted for crabs in the muddy creek.
II. stream 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . POUR [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to flow quickly and in great amounts SYN pour
stream out/from/onto etc
Water came streaming out of the burst pipe.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
2 . FLOW [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to move in a continuous flow in the same direction
stream out/across/past etc
People streamed past us on all sides.
3 . GIVE OUT LIQUID [intransitive and transitive] to produce a continuous flow of liquid
stream with
When I got up, my face was streaming with blood.
streaming cold British English (=an illness in which a lot of liquid comes out of your nose)
4 . LIGHT [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if light streams somewhere, it shines through an opening into a place or onto a surface SYN flood
stream in/through/from etc
The first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the open doorway.
5 . MOVE FREELY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, usually in progressive] to move freely in a current of wind or water
stream in/out/behind etc
Elise ran, her hair streaming out behind her.
6 . COMPUTER [transitive] if you stream sound or video, you play it on your computer while it is being ↑ download ed from the Internet, rather than saving it as a ↑ file and then playing it
7 . SCHOOL [transitive] British English to put school children in groups according to their ability SYN track American English
—streaming noun [uncountable]