Meanings
- UKcolloquialCrying hard.
He was told she was too distressed to come out - Battersea the goldfish had died and she was 'in floods'.
2011 May 31, Tina Brown, The Diana Chronicles, Random House, →ISBN, page 652 more examples
Of course Iain Duncan Smith is an absolute saint and families have got to learn that no house can be guaranteed for life especially if they can afford bus tickets, but honestly, every time I see Downton Abbey I am in floods.
2011 September 29, Catherine Bennett, Mrs Cameron's Diary, Hachette UK, →ISBNShe was too soft for her own good, Janet was. One Born Every Minute often had her in floods. Sometimes she used to hide her face from his, embarrassed by her tears in front of his cynical ridicule.
2016 April 7, Zoe Miller, Someone New, Hachette UK, →ISBN
Origin
Ellipsis of in floods of tears
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
in floods. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20floods
“in floods.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20floods. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in floods,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20floods.
Source: in floods on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.