flirt

[ flurt ]

See synonyms for: flirt flirting flirty on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to court triflingly or act amorously without serious intentions; play at love; coquet.
to trifle or toy, as with an idea: She flirted with the notion of buying a sports car.

to move with a jerk or jerks; dart about: butterflies flirting from flower to flower.

verb (used with object)

to give a sudden or brisk motion to; wave smartly, as a fan.
to throw or propel with a toss or jerk; fling suddenly.

noun

Also flirter. a person who is given to flirting.
a quick throw or toss; sudden jerk or darting motion.

Origin of flirt

1540–50; expressive word; compare similar initial cluster in flap, flick¹, flip¹, and final elements of squirt, spurt, etc.

Other words for flirt

1	tease
1, 2	dally
6	minx, coquette, tease

See synonyms for flirt on Thesaurus.com

Other words from flirt

flirt·ing·ly, adverb
flirt·y, adjective, flirt·i·er, flirt·i·est

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use flirt in a sentence

She is incapable of responding to kindness and enquiry, even very gentle flirting on the part of a co-worker.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook | Tim Teeman | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Willie Nelson and Norah Jones May-December fireplace flirting.
The Most WTF Covers of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’ Everyone’s Favorite Date-Rape Holiday Classic | Kevin Fallon | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Accordingly, she walks up to Pratt and begins rapping her flirting in the terrifying cadence of Nicki Minaj.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Review: The Ladies Steal the Show From Host Chris Pratt | Kevin Fallon | September 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They end up flirting with some girls while traveling with Ben, and are so distracted that they leave him on a city bus.
15 Times ‘Friends’ Was Really, Really Weird | Kevin Fallon | September 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He enjoyed flirting (harmlessly, it seems) with young women.
How I Learned to Hate Robert E. Lee | Christopher Dickey | June 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

There were no "flirting corners," and sitting out on the stairs à deux would have been a compromiso.
Spanish Life in Town and Country | L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
With flirting motions she twisted the folded kerchief into a rope.
From Place to Place | Irvin S. Cobb
Racine was bored by it all, and mitigated his boredom, during the two years he remained, only by flirting and by stringing rhymes.
The Stones of Paris in History and Letters, Volume I (of 2) | Benjamin Ellis Martin
She rose up from the piano, flirting out her gauze skirts, and laughing at the shower of entreaties to sing again.
A Changed Heart | May Agnes Fleming
I lounged around the room until I came to her crowd, attached myself there, and did some heavy flirting.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 15, No. 87, March, 1875 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for flirt

flirt

/ (flɜːt) /

verb

(intr) to behave or act amorously without emotional commitment; toy or play with another's affections; dally
(intr usually foll by with) to deal playfully or carelessly (with something dangerous or serious); trifle: the motorcyclist flirted with death

(intr usually foll by with) to think casually (about); toy (with): to flirt with the idea of leaving
(intr) to move jerkily; dart; flit
(tr) to subject to a sudden swift motion; flick or toss

noun

a person who acts flirtatiously

Origin of flirt

C16: of uncertain origin

Derived forms of flirt

flirter, noun
flirty, adjective
flirtingly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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