flit

[ flit ]

/ flɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flit ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), flit·ted, flit·ting.

to move lightly and swiftly; fly, dart, or skim along: bees flitting from flower to flower.

to flutter, as a bird.

to pass quickly, as time: hours flitting by.

Chiefly Scot. and North England.

to depart or die.
to change one's residence.

verb (used with object), flit·ted, flit·ting.

Chiefly Scot. to remove; transfer; oust or dispossess.

noun

a light, swift movement; flutter.

Scot. and North England. a change of residence; instance of moving to a new address.

Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a male homosexual.

Nearby words

Origin of flit

1150–1200; Middle English flitten < Old Norse flytja to carry, convey, Swedish flytta. See fleet²

SYNONYMS FOR flit

1. See fly¹.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flit ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsflit·ting·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flit

This time we are back in 1941 and flit from Berlin (“the capital of a banana republic that had run out of bananas”) to Prague.
Must Read Fiction: ‘Prague Fatale,’ ‘Derby Day’ and More|Malcolm Forbes, Hillary Kelly, Mythili Rao|May 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was one of those mournful figures that flit from time to time across the pages of history.
The Walls of Constantinople|Bernard Granville Baker
There are dark, swift, flashing beetles that flit so in the heat of summer among the blades of dry grass.
A Desperate Character and Other Stories|Ivan Turgenev
Other figures of fiction, in fancy, flit across the Square, or throng the near-by streets.
Fifth Avenue|Arthur Bartlett Maurice

This at least is her opinion, and thus the months flit by and leave her just as wise as they found her.
Punch, Vol. 99., July 26, 1890.|Various
I flit—and flit—for I am ever on the wing—but I avoid the herd.
A Tramp Abroad, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for flit

flit

/ (flɪt) /

verb flits, flitting or flitted (intr)

to move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart

to fly rapidly and lightly; flutter

to pass quickly; fleeta memory flitted into his mind

Scot and Northern English dialect to move house

British informal to depart hurriedly and stealthily in order to avoid obligations

an informal word for elope

noun

the act or an instance of flitting

slang, mainly US a male homosexual

British informal a hurried and stealthy departure in order to avoid obligations (esp in the phrase do a flit)

See moonlight flit

Derived Formsflitter, noun

Word Origin for flit

C12: from Old Norse flytja to carry

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

Word Origin and History for flit

flit

c.1200, flutten "convey, move, take, carry away, go away," perhaps from Old Norse flytja "to remove, bring."

Theire desire ... is to goe to theire newe masters eyther on a Tewsday, or on a Thursday; for ... they say Munday flitte, Neaver sitte. [Henry Best, farming & account book, 1641]

Related: Flitted; flitting. As a noun, from 1835.

flit

verb (used without object), flit·ted, flit·ting.

verb (used with object), flit·ted, flit·ting.

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of flit

Examples from the Web for flit

flit

verb flits, flitting or flitted (intr)

noun

Word Origin for flit

flit