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)
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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
Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
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Stargirl
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Matilda
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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:
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
Also, monarch butterflies flit among the tall stands of narrow leaf milkweed, the plant their caterpillars require to survive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025
This time, expect nostalgia and a dream-pop soundtrack as players flit between the present day and the sun-kissed Michigan summer of 1995, unravelling the mystery at the heart of the game.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2025
They flit around each other when she orders from the greengrocer daily.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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
Her lack of glamour is in sharp contrast to Scherzinger’s Norma, who flits about like a vampire in a black slip dress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
We’re treated to glimpses of a life—career, fame and adoration—as it flits past our eyes.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2024
If trains still overflow, or are delayed, passengers can climb aboard a new Route 515 bus that flits between Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Seattle.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
The thick of the night rush is on now, and he flits from table to table, no time to stop and talk.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
In the low-lighted galleries, painted black, deep purple and green, Evans’s proliferating eyes flitted between predators and prey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
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
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
There was a hard edge in his gaze as his eyes flitted from Ekon back to the campsite’s fire.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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
He’s both movie-star hunky and action-star engrossing, flitting between these two deceptively binary ends without breaking a sweat.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
Fittingly, Daniel Pemberton’s score has that same sense of free-ranging curiosity, flitting between genres at will.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
Rates flitting back below 6% isn’t out of the question this year.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Barely listening to the music, she watched the frenzy of insects flitting around the light, vying to kill themselves.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
