reflow meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

reflow

verb

Etymology From re- + flow.

To flow back again; to flow once more.

The sea flows and reflows.
Such an act, you may conceive, had its due weight upon my feelings; but, alas! though it reminded me of the loss I had sustained, and caused my tears to reflow, the remains of my departed husband were not there,—they were left upon a foreign shore.1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XX, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 257:

Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To cause to flow again, to remelt.

Reflowing solder is a common form of rework in the manufacture of printed circuit boards: you heat up the solder and it flows where it should have flowed the first time.

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To modify the layout of text around other objects in a document.

The latter option will reflow text to even out the spacing within each paragraph.2008, Trish Meyer, Chris Meyer, Creating motion graphics with After Effects:

Derived terms: reflowable

reflow

noun

Etymology From re- + flow.

A flowing back again.

the flow and reflow of the tide

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The process of recreating the layout of a document when some of its component elements have changed.