different between flex vs flexure

English

Etymology

Latin flexus, past participle of flecto (“to bend”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fl?ks/
• Rhymes: -?ks
• Homophone: flecks

Noun

flex (countable and uncountable, plural flexes)

1. (uncountable) Flexibility, pliancy.
2. (countable) The or an act of flexing.
   • 2002, Gary Noy, Red Dirt: A Journey of Discovery in the Landscape of Imagination, California's Gold Country, iUniverse (?ISBN), page 144:

     The hills become more rounded. The slopes are either the stooped shoulders of an aging colossus or the muscular flexes of a geologic youngster, but they are pleasant, comforting. This landscape is what most would think of […]

3. (uncountable, chiefly Britain) Any flexible insulated electrical wiring.
4. (uncountable) Flexible ductwork, typically flexible plastic over a metal wire coil to shape a tube.
   • 2010, Aaron Lubeck, Green Restorations: Sustainable Building and Historic Homes (page 221)

     Flex is quick and cheaper to install than metallic systems, but it yields higher pressure loss than other types of ducts and requires runs of less than 15 feet, minimal turns and elimination of kinks.

5. (countable, geometry) A point of inflection.
6. (countable, slang) The act of flaunting something; something one considers impressive.
   • 2017, "Mogul Bites", Black American Moguls, Fall 2017, page 6:

     Getting together with other power players at Masa is the ultimate flex of conspicuous consumption. […] A party of five or more requires a deposit of $200 per person at least one week prior to the reservation.

   • 2019, Seth Sommerfeld, "Worldwide Web", Inlander, 4 July 2019 - 10 July 2019, page 37:

     It's an achievement to stand out from other Marvel movies in terms of special effects, but this whole movie feels like a flex for those computer wizards.

   • 2020, Daniel Varghese, "Aesop's Hand Sanitizer Is a Flex for an Anxious Time", GQ, 6 March 2020
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:flex.

Translations

Verb

flex (third-person singular simple present flexes, present participle flexing, simple past and past participle flexed)

1. (transitive) To bend something.
2. (transitive) To repeatedly bend one of one's joints.
3. (transitive) To move part of the body using one's muscles.
4. (intransitive) To tighten the muscles for display of size or strength.
5. (intransitive, slang, by extension) To flaunt one's superiority.

Translations

Related terms

• flexibility
• flexible
• flexing
• flexion

Anagrams

• XFEL

English

Etymology

From Latin flexura.

Noun

flexure (countable and uncountable, plural flexures)

1. The act of bending or flexing; flexion.
2. A turn; a bend; a fold; a curve.
   • British Quarterly Review

     varying with the flexures of the valley through which it meandered

3. (anatomy) A curve or bend in a tubular organ.
4. (zoology) The last joint, or bend, of the wing of a bird.
5. (astronomy) The small distortion of an astronomical instrument caused by the weight of its parts; the amount to be added or subtracted from the observed readings of the instrument to correct them for this distortion.

Related terms

• flex
• flexural
• flexion

Translations

References

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2000).

Latin

Participle

flex?re

1. vocative masculine singular of flex?rus