to flex

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive or intransitive

   to bend a muscle, especially in your arm, in order to make it bigger and stronger

   Grammar: Can be used with an object (flex your arm) or without (he flexed).

   Patterns

   • flex your muscles
   • flex your arm

   The bodybuilder flexed his muscles for the audience.

   She flexed her arm to show off her new tattoo.

2. 2verbintransitiveinformalslang

   to show off your money, possessions, or success in a way that is meant to impress others

   Grammar: Often used in informal speech and on social media. No object needed.

   Patterns

   • flex on someone
   • flex with something

   He's always flexing on Instagram with his new car.

   She flexed her expensive watch at the party.

3. 3verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical

   to bend something, especially a part of the body, or to become bent

   Grammar: Used in medical or technical contexts for joints and limbs.

   Patterns

   • flex a joint
   • flex your knee

   The patient can flex his fingers after the surgery.

   This material flexes easily without breaking.

Word forms

Common combinations

flex your muscles

He flexed his muscles to show how strong he was.

flex on someone

Don't flex on your friends just because you got a promotion.

flex your wealth

Some celebrities flex their wealth on social media.

flex a joint

The doctor asked me to flex my knee slowly.

Synonyms and how they differ

show off

More general; it means to display abilities or possessions to impress others.

bend

Neutral word for curving something; does not imply showing off.

Opposites

Word family

flexible adjective

able to bend easily without breaking

flexibility noun

the ability to bend or change easily

Commonly confused: to flex or flux?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “to flex”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words