flex
part of speech
verb (flex, flexes, flexed, flexing); noun (a flex, flexes — UK cable; a flex — slang showing off)
meaning for a pupil
1) To flex means to bend a part of your body, like your arm or fingers. tree →
2) To flex your muscles means to tighten them so they stand out, often to show strength. tree →
3) (UK, Ireland, Australia) A flex is a bendy electric cable with a plug, for a lamp or kettle (in US English, a cord). tree →
4) (slang) To flex means to show off something, like new trainers or money; «a flex» is a showing-off. tree →
sense in the lessons
In PE and science lessons, pupils flex and stretch joints and learn that muscles work in pairs. In safety lessons, worn flexes and trailing cables are dangers to report. In playground slang, «stop flexing» means «stop showing off», and «weird flex but OK» teases someone for bragging about something odd. Phrases: «flex your muscles», «flex your fingers», «weird flex».
examples
- Flex your arm and feel your biceps. tree →
- The gymnast flexed her feet before the jump. tree →
- Don't touch that kettle flex; it's frayed. tree →
- He was flexing his new phone all day. tree →
- «I've got two hundred cousins.» «Weird flex, but OK.» tree →
- The country flexed its muscles by showing off its army. tree →
- Gently flex your fingers after typing for a long time. tree →
note
Verb is regular: flexed, flexing; noun plural: flexes. Related: flexible (bendy, or able to change). The slang sense is informal; avoid it in written work.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «flex» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.