stream

noun \ ˈstrēm \

Updated on: 6 Dec 2017

Definition of stream

1 : a body of running water (such as a river or brook) flowing on the earth; also : any body of flowing fluid (such as water or gas)

2 a : a steady succession (as of words or events)

kept up an endless stream of chatter

b : a constantly renewed or steady supply

a stream of revenue

c : a continuous moving procession

a stream of traffic

3 : an unbroken flow (as of gas or particles of matter)

4 : a ray of light

5 a : a prevailing attitude or group

has always run against the stream of current fashion

b : a dominant influence or line of development

the influence of two streams of inheritance: genetic and cultural
—P. B. Baltes

6 British : track 5c

See stream defined for English-language learners

See stream defined for kids

Examples of stream in a Sentence

A stream flows through the field.

Recent Examples of stream from the Web

Shares of three companies Farnsworth led dropped 99 percent during his tenure despite a steady stream of press releases about their ambitious plans.

— anousha sakoui, Bloomberg.com, "The Man Behind Moviepass’ 1,151% Rally Has Had 99% Wipeouts in the Past," 30 Oct. 2017
Houses are staging shows in more intimate settings, like private garages (Ralph Lauren) or their own ateliers (Maison Margiela), while others thirstily live-stream every stitch.

— alexander fury, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Future of Fashion," 30 Oct. 2017
The direct link to the stream is :http://bit.ly/1104uwavsu.

— west alabama athletics, AL.com, "West Alabama selected for Division II Showcase flex game," 29 Oct. 2017
There are only two teams on bye this week, but fantasy owners who need help in their starting lineups can still find some on the stream.

— jennifer eakins, SI.com, "Week 7 Fantasy Football Streaming Options," 18 Oct. 2017
In another major project, in Lexington, Kentucky, the studio is helping to create a 2.5-mile linear urban park by uncovering a stream now channeled by an underground culvert in what was a classic engineering approach to urban waterways.

— adrian higgins, idahostatesman, "For the first time, MacArthur Foundation has given ‘genius’ award to a landscape architect | Idaho Statesman," 18 Oct. 2017
Because the outside surface of each stream has had no contact with a production surface, those surfaces do not pick up any contamination or other damage, and emerge flat and devoid of defects.

— The Economist, "One of the world’s oldest products faces the digital future," 12 Oct. 2017
The flow of the key four regional crude streams -- Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk, which largely set the price of the benchmark -- will run at about 820,000 barrels a day in November.

— javier blas, Bloomberg.com, "North Sea Oil Squeezed as U.S. Ships Crude Like Never Before," 11 Oct. 2017
Hundreds of tadpoles have been put into mountain streams to boost the population in the wild.

— john wilkens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Zoo pursues dozens of little-known conservation projects," 17 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stream.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of stream

Middle English streme, from Old English strēam; akin to Old High German stroum stream, Greek rhein to flow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

stream

verb

Definition of stream

intransitive verb

1 a : to flow in or as if in a stream

b : to leave a bright trail

a meteor streamed through the sky

2 a : to exude a bodily fluid profusely

her eyes were streaming

b : to become wet with a discharge of bodily fluid

streaming with perspiration

3 : to trail out at full length

her hair streaming back as she ran

4 : to pour in large numbers

complaints came streaming in

transitive verb

1 : to emit freely or in a stream

his eyes streamed tears

2 : to display (something, such as a flag) by waving

3 : to transfer (digital data, such as audio or video material) in a continuous stream especially for immediate processing or playback

See stream defined for English-language learners

Examples of stream in a Sentence

Tears streamed down his cheeks.
I could feel the cold air streaming in through the crack in the window.
Sunlight was streaming in through the window.
rays of light streaming through the clouds
His face streamed with sweat.
People streamed into the hall.
Immigrants streamed into the country.
Hundreds of letters streamed in from listeners.

Recent Examples of stream from the Web

One explanation is that over many millennia cosmic rays have transformed the icy, volatile chemicals that would be expected to stream off a comet into more stable compounds.

— The Economist, "AstronomyThe first visitor from another solar system has just been spotted," 2 Nov. 2017
The church has grown since then from 5,000 to 50,000 attendees, in addition to many more tuning in on radio, TV and streaming broadcasts.

— nate chute, Indianapolis Star, "Houston televangelist Joel Osteen is coming to Carmel," 2 Nov. 2017
Sunlight streamed through the front windows of their large North Avondale home.

— sharon coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Christopher Smitherman, activist, councilman, is a caregiver, too," 1 Nov. 2017
Tens of thousands of foreign fighters had streamed into Iraq and Syria to bolster its ranks.

— ashton b. carter, The Atlantic, "Ashton Carter: Behind the Plan to Defeat ISIS," 31 Oct. 2017
Ward 1 Council candidate Logan Heley, who is challenging incumbent Dave Janson, also talks about the need for live video streaming on his campaign webpage.

— lynn horsley, kansascity, "Why doesn’t Overland Park livestream council meetings when other JoCo cities do?," 31 Oct. 2017
Invoke users who want to stream a specific song need a premium account from Spotify AB.

— jay greene, WSJ, "Microsoft Joins the Home-Speaker Party With Invoke," 20 Oct. 2017
The standard service, which allows people to stream up to two screens, will soon cost $10.99 per month instead of $9.99.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Netflix to Raise Prices in November," 5 Oct. 2017
The paid subscription gets you two weeks of guide data, the ability to set series recordings, and the ability to stream your video content outside of your home network.

— jim rossman, The Seattle Times, "Tablo Dual brings DVR to cord cutters’ screens," 15 Sep. 2017

First Known Use of stream

13th century

stream Synonyms

Synonyms

pour

Antonyms

back up

Related Words

ladle, spoon; cascade, trickle; deluge, flood, inundate, overflow

Near Antonyms

clot, coagulate, congeal, gel, harden, set

STREAM Defined for English Language Learners

stream

noun

Definition of stream for English Language Learners

: a natural flow of water that is smaller than a river
: any flow of liquid or gas
: a continuous flow of people or things

stream

verb

Definition of stream for English Language Learners

: to move in a steady flow
of the body or a body part : to produce a liquid continuously and often in large amounts
: to be or become wet with a liquid

STREAM Defined for Kids

stream

noun \ ˈstrēm \

Definition of stream for Students

1 : a body of water (as a brook or river) flowing on the earth

2 : a flow of liquid or gas

a stream of tears

3 : a steady series (as of words or events) following one another

There was an endless stream of traffic.

stream

verb

Definition of stream for Students

streamed; streaming

1 : to flow in or as if in a stream

Rain was streaming down the windows.

2 : to give out a bodily fluid in large amounts

His face streamed sweat.

3 : to become wet with flowing liquid

The windows are streaming with rain.

4 : to trail out at full length

Her hair streamed in the wind.

5 : to pour, enter, or arrive in large numbers

The people streamed into the hall.

Complaints were streaming in.

6 : to transfer (data, as music or videos) in a continuous stream especially to be played immediately

Medical Dictionary

stream

noun \ ˈstrēm \

medical Definition of stream

: an unbroken current or flow (as of water, a bodily fluid, or a gas) — see bloodstream, midstream

Learn More about stream

See words that rhyme with stream Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for stream Spanish Central: Translation of stream Nglish: Translation of stream for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of stream for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about stream

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Origin and Etymology of stream

Other Geology Terms

stream

Definition of stream

Examples of stream in a Sentence

Recent Examples of stream from the Web

First Known Use of stream

stream Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

STREAM Defined for English Language Learners

stream

Definition of stream for English Language Learners

stream

Definition of stream for English Language Learners

STREAM Defined for Kids

stream

Definition of stream for Students

stream

Definition of stream for Students

Medical Dictionary

stream

medical Definition of stream

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