This is the 17376th most frequent Russian word.
тек
The Russian word "тек" means "flowed" (past tense of "to flow").
Here, 'тек' is the past tense of the verb 'течь', which means 'to flow', describing the movement of water.
Ручей тихо тек сквозь лес.
The stream quietly flowed through the forest.
Here, 'текло' is the past tense of 'течь', referring metaphorically to the passage of time.
Текло время, и мы стали старше.
Time flowed, and we became older.
In this sentence, 'текли' is the plural past tense form of 'течь', used to describe the movement of air streams.