flit

[ flit ]

/ flɪt /

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See synonyms for: flit / flitted / flitting 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 gay man.

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Origin of flit

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English flitten, from Old Norse flytja “to carry, convey,” Swedish flytta; see fleet²

synonym study for flit

1. See fly².

OTHER WORDS FROM flit

flit·ting·ly, adverb

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

How to use flit in a sentence

Lobbyist Lloyd Hand, a former aide to Lyndon Johnson, flitted from conversation to conversation.
Kissy-Face The Nation: Washington’s Power Elite Smooch Bob Schieffer|Lloyd Grove|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As she departed her glance just flitted over my face in disapproval.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A leashed dog flitted from pickup to semi to tour bus, sometimes pulling its handler as it charged ahead.
U.S. Drug and Immigration Checkpoints Take Toll on Border Towns|Andrew Becker, G. W. Schulz|June 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He flitted around London wearing a ludicrous gas mask over his face…to disguise himself from paparazzi?
Justin Bieber’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week|Kevin Fallon|March 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

One was the mind of the bomber, Humam al-Balawi, a man who flitted precariously between opposing camps.
How a Triple Agent Duped the CIA|The Daily Beast|June 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Rosemary flitted about like a will o' the wisp, and finally went to the window, where she stood looking wistfully out.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
While she flitted into the next room to fetch a stamp, Mrs. Haughstone, her needles arrested in mid-air, looked steadily at Tom.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
Surely enough a shadow flitted along, and somebody began softly whistling a few bars of an opera.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
As she listened, there flitted through her mind the vision of Liff Hyatt's muddy boot coming down on the white bramble-flowers.
Summer|Edith Wharton
The light flitted about for a few months; but on the night of your birth, Clifford, it disappeared, and was never seen again.
A Fortune Hunter; Or, The Old Stone Corral|John Dunloe Carteret

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 forms of flit

flitter, 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

flit

Origin of flit

synonym study for flit

OTHER WORDS FROM flit

Words related to flit

How to use flit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flit

Derived forms of flit

Word Origin for flit