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:
The contemporary costumes are unchanged as the actors flit between roles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Conversations are built on disagreement; distractable brains flit from one thought to a barely related other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 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
Hargitay doesn’t flit between talking heads at warp speed to feed the viewer information, or overly rely on archival footage and old photos to make the film feel like a glorified Wikipedia deep dive.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2025
Esperanza looked from Javier to Moss, and he saw the worry flit across her face.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Tech conglomerate SoftBank—a proxy for the AI trade—Advantest and Kioxia, to name a few, have oscillated sharply as market sentiment flits between euphoria over the technology’s long-term promise and pessimism over monetization and sky-high valuations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Pfeiffer’s Texan matriarch is a delight to watch as she flits about her house, decking the halls with warm, multicolored lights and seasonal throw pillows.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025
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
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
My gaze flits from the sticks to the balls to the can of white powder on the side of the table.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Birmingham, Bolton and Norwich flitted between divisions for four successive seasons.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
In the months leading up to the U.S. and Israeli campaign, senior Arab officials say Araghchi flitted between openness, at times joining friendly dinners, and menacing by appearing to imply Iran might attack its neighbors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Tech firms around Asia sank, though broader markets flitted between gains and losses.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 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
Something cool was pressed into her hands, and her fingers flitted over his as he raised the canteen to her mouth.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Matt said the highlight of the experience would be the blue morpho butterfly from central America, "with iridescent blue wings, darting and flitting" around the space.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Come to think of it, thoughts are perhaps not unlike a murmuration of starlings, flitting and swooping and morphing with seemingly serendipitous activation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 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
Rates flitting back below 6% isn’t out of the question this year.
From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026
Disappointed, they waited in their seats, doubts flitting inside of them.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
