flit
Americanverb (used without object)
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flits,
present (3rd person singular)
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flitted,
past participle, past
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flitting
present participle
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to move lightly and swiftly; fly, dart, or skim along.
bees flitting from flower to flower.
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to flutter, as a bird.
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to pass quickly, as time.
hours flitting by.
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Chiefly Scot. and North England.
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to depart or die.
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to change one's residence.
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verb (used with object)
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flits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
flitted,
past participle, past
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flitting
present participle
noun
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a light, swift movement; flutter.
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Scot. and North England. a change of residence; instance of moving to a new address.
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Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.
verb
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to move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
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to fly rapidly and lightly; flutter
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to pass quickly; fleet
a memory flitted into his mind
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dialect to move house
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informal to depart hurriedly and stealthily in order to avoid obligations
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an informal word for elope
noun
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the act or an instance of flitting
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slang a male homosexual
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informal a hurried and stealthy departure in order to avoid obligations (esp in the phrase do a flit )
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See moonlight flit
Synonym Usage
See fly 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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flitsimple
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flitssimple
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have flittedperfect
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has flittedperfect
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am flittingprogressive
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are flittingprogressive
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is flittingprogressive
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have been flittingperfect progressive
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has been flittingperfect progressive
Past
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flittedsimple
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had flittedperfect
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was flittingprogressive
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were flittingprogressive
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had been flittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flit
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English flitten, from Old Norse flytja “to carry, convey,” Swedish flytta; see fleet 2
Explanation
A flit is a quick movement. You might flit around a crowded party, greeting everyone briefly with some light-hearted chatter and moving on quickly. Whether it's used to describe something literal or figurative, flit refers to something fleeting and quick. Flit and fleet are both related to float. Something that floats keeps moving. A smile might flit across your face or a thought may flit into your mind. That means the smile or the thought is there for a second and then gone.
Vocabulary lists containing flit
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Stargirl
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Conversations are built on disagreement; distractable brains flit from one thought to a barely related other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
Silverblatt spent his entire career at S&P, a rarity among restless Wall Street hustlers who often flit between companies to climb the corporate ladder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
Today, bicycles and bright yellow three-wheeled "keke" taxis flit along paved streets or new highway flyovers direct traffic over packed roundabouts.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
Cinnamon's Friday 13th flit from Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Shropshire has inspired memes, merchandise, and a song, which staff have on repeat.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2024
They would flit and rush around and click and fly from one eating spot to another.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Ray’s camera flits, with arresting rhythm, between the players; Aparna flits her eyelids as she names Cleopatra during the first round.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The names alone suggest a level of parody, and, in the first episode, a send-up quality flits in and out of the proceedings, but the show chooses cynicism over satire every time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2025
We’re treated to glimpses of a life—career, fame and adoration—as it flits past our eyes.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2024
The film, alternately cheeky and humanist, flits between two visual languages, what Wang called “the movie of their lives and the movie that they’re in.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
But the thought flits through my mind, There have got to be stabler things than love.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
In cavernous, tomblike galleries, exquisite statuettes are softly spot-lit on stone shelves without labels, while images of deities painted by Rivera flitted across the ceiling above.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Godwill Kukonki – Another player who has flitted between the under-18 and under-21 sides this season.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Oil prices flitted between small gains and losses, with U.S. crude futures ending the day up less than 0.1% at $91.29 a barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Smith said he flitted in and out of homelessness during that time — his first time ever without stable housing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
A sound flitted through the garden, and some of the guards glanced toward the source.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
The primary portrait of Adrian that emerges in “Remake” is that of a moody young man, his attitude toward his father flitting between mild tolerance and barely veiled resentment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Fireflies at dusk, flitting around outdoor gatherings as cousins trade jokes with a friendly, rough-and-tumble edge.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
Rates flitting back below 6% isn’t out of the question this year.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Marty spends a whole week flitting between the ’80s and the ’50s, never fully absorbing what the differences between those decades mean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
Apa nods, but his eyes shift around the room, flitting from person to person, family to family.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
