floss

floss
    n 1: a soft loosely twisted thread used in embroidery
    2: a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth [syn:
       {dental floss}, {floss}]
    v 1: use dental floss to clean; "floss your teeth after every
         meal"
    

Floss \Floss\, n. [Cf. G. floss a float.]
   1. A small stream of water. [Eng.]
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Fluid glass floating on iron in the puddling furnace,
      produced by the vitrification of oxides and earths which
      are present.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Floss hole}.
      (a) A hole at the back of a puddling furnace, at which the
          slags pass out.
      (b) The tap hole of a melting furnace. --Knight.
          [1913 Webster]
    

Floss \Floss\ (?; 195), n. [It. floscio flabby, soft, fr. L.
   fluxus flowing, loose, slack. See {Flux}, n.]
   1. (Bot.) The slender styles of the pistillate flowers of
      maize; also called {silk}.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Untwisted filaments of silk, used in embroidering.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A body feather of an ostrich. Flosses are soft, and gray
      from the female and black from the male.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   {Floss silk}, silk that has been twisted, and which retains
      its loose and downy character. It is much used in
      embroidery. Called also {floxed silk}.

   {Floss thread}, a kind of soft flaxen yarn or thread, used
      for embroidery; -- called also {linen floss}, and {floss
      yarn}. --McElrath.
      [1913 Webster]
    

33 Moby Thesaurus words for "floss":
      blubber, breeze, butter, clay, cushion, dough, down, eiderdown,
      feather bed, feathers, fleece, flue, fluff, foam, fur, fuzz, kapok,
      lint, pile, pillow, plush, pudding, puff, putty, rubber, satin,
      silk, swansdown, thistledown, velvet, wax, wool, zephyr