stream

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 a small narrow river: mountain / underground streams * We waded across a shallow stream. seealsoDOWNSTREAM, UPSTREAM, THEGULFSTREAM 2 ~ (of sth) a continuous flow of liquid or gas: A stream of blood flowed from the wound. * He blew out a stream of cigar smoke. * a jet stream seealsoBLOODSTREAM 3 ~ (of sth/sb) a continuous flow of people or vehicles: I've had a steady stream of visitors. * Cars filed past in an endless stream. 4 ~ of sth a large number of things that happen one after the other: a constant stream of enquiries / complaints * The agency provided me with a steady stream of work. * Most of the letter consisted of a stream of abuse. 5 (especially BrE) a group in which students of the same age and level of ability are placed in some schools: She was put into the fast stream. IDIOMS be / come on stream to be in operation or available: The new computer system comes on stream next month. verb 1 ~ (from sth)