flex1 verbflex2 noun
flexflex1 /fleks/ verb [transitive] 
Word OriginWORD ORIGINflex
Verb TableOrigin:
1500-1600 Latin flexus; ➔ FLEXIBLEVERB TABLE
flex
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | flex |
| he, she, it | flexes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | flexed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have flexed |
| he, she, it | has flexed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had flexed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will flex |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have flexed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am flexing |
| he, she, it | is flexing | |
| you, we, they | are flexing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was flexing |
| you, we, they | were flexing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been flexing |
| he, she, it | has been flexing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been flexing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be flexing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been flexing |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Collocations- I just hoped that all that flexing and twisting of the hull would not burst the 3, 000 rattan lashings.
- Lying as shown, flex the foot and swing the top leg forwards and backwards 5 times.
- She let blood in, and flexed the fingers.
- She watched him raise one hand to rub the nape of his neck, then flex his shoulder muscles.
- The arms of the dead warrior seemed to flex, moved by heat, twisted by the consuming flame.
- The former is the inability to extend the knee completely when the thigh is flexed.
- The raft had to flex to survive, but there was a serious penalty: the constant movement produced tremendous abrasion.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► flex your muscles
Phrases (=bend your arm muscles so that people can see how strong you are)· He was lifting weights and flexing his muscles.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► finger· The picture focused upon the questing, flexing fingers.· As soon as Lexandro flexed a finger, his power gauntlet twitched in rapport.· She flexed her fingers, trying to become accustomed to the power-assisted joints.· She let blood in, and flexed the fingers.· Connelly flexed his fingers and toes and felt renewed pain, a feeling of weightlessness.· Jeane Russell held her hand, dainty but thick-wristed, up, and flexed her fingers.· Jeane Russell flexed her fingers again.
► foot· Lying as shown, flex the foot and swing the leg forwards and backwards 5 times.· He flexed his feet, feeling his toes in his socks.· Raise your right leg, flexing the foot so that your toes are pointed toward the front.· Remain in the same position and, keeping the top leg straight, flex the foot.· Now begin to flex your feet.· Keeping the top leg straight, flex the foot and swing the leg forwards and backwards 5 times.
► hand· He played scales, flexing his surgeon-sculptor's hands.· He flexed his hand and stroked a talon across his own forearm.· Now Rostov was amazed to see the Khan flex his hand so that the nails extended like claws.· Then he flexed his hand again, and the claws retracted with a flash of silver.· Still with your arms straight, flex your hands and cross your arms low in front of you, hands together.· Stretch your arms out to the sides, flex both hands, and draw small, quick tight circles round one way.· The big white creaks upright and stands flexing his hands.
► leg· Roll over again and swing the top leg forwards with foot flexed.· Raise your right leg, flexing the foot so that your toes are pointed toward the front.· Remain in the same position and, keeping the top leg straight, flex the foot.· Have your partner sit down on the mat, extending one leg and flexing the other.· Their leg joints flex only slightly in the front-rear direction but exceedingly well at right angles to this.· Keeping the top leg straight, flex the foot and swing the leg forwards and backwards 5 times.· Next it stretched its back legs, flexing the abnormally long toes that ended in big lizard-like nails.
► muscle· His muscles flexed, strong, strong.· Isabel saw the powerful muscles of his shoulders flex beneath his tunic as he controlled whatever emotion was driving him.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► flex your muscles
1to tighten your muscles or bend part of your body2flex your muscles to show your ability to do something, especially your skill or power: - This new position should give you the chance to really flex your muscles.
- At the same time, it was beginning to flex its muscles on the world stage.
- Harold was flexing his muscles for the perfect balance, teeth bared, knife poised over his head.
- He seized a horrible pair of forceps and I closed my eyes as he started flexing his muscles.
- If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to flex your muscles.
- Like Querelle, men in tatty soiled uniforms are flexing their muscles, while others stare vacantly into the middle distance.
- Read in studio Finally tonight we're going to flex our muscles.
- Soldiers, who previously had lacked social status, were now flexing their muscles because the military ran the country.
- This is an unfamiliar luxury for Labour voters; now they want to flex their muscles.
The role will allow her to flex her acting muscles.flex1 verbflex2 noun
flexflex2 noun [countable] British English Word OriginWORD ORIGINflex2
ExamplesOrigin:
1900-2000 flexibleEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
word sets- For the younger and fitter elderly person, though, the long flex is a very good idea.
- It's safe but you need to have a firm grip to cut a 13-amp flex.
- Six amp three-core mains flex is used for the mains input which connects straight to the p.c.b.
- Suddenly Donald was tied to his chair with the flex from the lamp, the plug still attached.
- The prosecution alleges Hammond attacked the girl with his hands, fists, a ruler and the flex from an electric kettle.
- The single framed print hanging on the wall on the first landing, the dead lightbulbs suspended pointlessly from their dusty flexes.
WORD SETS► Electricity
Collocationsammeter, nounamp, nounanode, nounblow, verbcathode, nouncircuit, nouncontact, nouncurrent, noundiode, noundirect current, noundischarge, noundynamo, nounelectricity, nounelectro-, prefixelectromagnet, nounelectromagnetic, adjectiveelectromagnetism, nounflat, adjectiveflex, nounimpulse, nounincandescent, adjectiveinduction, nounJ, kilowatt, nounkW, LED, nounlight-emitting diode, nounmagnetic, adjectivemagnetic field, nounmagnetic tape, nounmagnetism, nounmagnetize, verbohm, nounoscillate, verboscillator, nounoverload, verbplasma, nounpolarity, nounpole, nounpositive, adjectivepotential, nounradio wave, nounrepel, verbrepulsion, nounresistance, nounresistor, nounsemiconductor, nounshock, nounsolid-state, adjectivestatic, nounstatic electricity, nounsubatomic, adjectivesubstation, nounsuperconductivity, nounsuperconductor, nountransmission, nountransmit, verbvoltmeter, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► flex your muscles
an electrical wire covered with plastic, used to connect electrical equipment to an electricity supply SYN cord American English → lead (=bend your arm muscles so that people can see how strong you are)· He was lifting weights and flexing his muscles.