fling
Americanverb (used with object)
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to throw, cast, or hurl with force or violence.
to fling a stone.
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to move (oneself ) violently with impatience, contempt, or the like.
She flung herself angrily from the room.
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to put suddenly or violently.
to fling a suspect into jail.
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to project or speak sharply, curtly, or forcefully.
He flung his answer at the questioner.
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to involve (oneself ) vigorously in an undertaking.
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to move, do, or say (something) quickly.
to fling a greeting in passing.
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to send suddenly and rapidly.
to fling fresh troops into a battle.
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to throw aside or off.
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to throw to the ground, as in wrestling or horseback riding.
verb (used without object)
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to move with haste or violence; rush; dash.
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to fly into violent and irregular motions, as a horse; throw the body about, as a person.
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to speak harshly or abusively (usually followed byout ).
He flung out disgustedly against the whole human race.
noun
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an act of flinging.
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a short period of unrestrained pursuit of one's wishes or desires.
The week of partying was my last fling before starting a new job.
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an attempt at something.
He took a fling at playwriting.
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a critical or contemptuous remark; gibe.
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Also called Highland fling. a lively Scottish dance characterized by flinging movements of the arms and legs.
verb
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to throw, esp with force or abandon; hurl or toss
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to put or send without warning or preparation
to fling someone into jail
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(also intr) to move (oneself or a part of the body) with abandon or speed
he flung himself into a chair
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(usually foll by into) to apply (oneself) diligently and with vigour (to)
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to cast aside; disregard
she flung away her scruples
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to utter violently or offensively
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poetic to give out; emit
noun
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the act or an instance of flinging; toss; throw
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a period or occasion of unrestrained, impulsive, or extravagant behaviour
to have a fling
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any of various vigorous Scottish reels full of leaps and turns, such as the Highland fling
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a trial; try
to have a fling at something different
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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flingsimple
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flingssimple
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have flungperfect
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has flungperfect
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am flingingprogressive
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are flingingprogressive
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is flingingprogressive
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have been flingingperfect progressive
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has been flingingperfect progressive
Past
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flungsimple
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had flungperfect
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was flingingprogressive
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were flingingprogressive
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had been flingingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fling
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; compare Swedish flänga “to fly, race”
Explanation
To fling is to throw something with force. You'll start a food fight in the cafeteria if you fling your vegetables at the kid across the table. The act of throwing something recklessly or with force can also be called a fling. Your mail sorting ritual might be putting bills in one pile and personal letters in another, then giving junk mail a fling into the recycling bin. A brief period of revelry or indulgence is another kind of fling. You and your friends could plan a weekend fling in New York, staying in a hotel, eating out, and shopping without worrying about how much money you spend.
Vocabulary lists containing fling
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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:
He maintained a strong and tender marriage, despite his fling with Kahlo, and tried to keep up with the times during breaks from work on his biography of Stalin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
"They will get out, but not like people think. It's not as if they're going to fling the doors open like a bull run."
From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026
He’s had fling with Broadway with “The Kite Runner.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
Smith tried to drag a pull around the corner only for Jacks, at backward square leg, to fling himself to his right and cling on with his right hand.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
A drop of sweat hightails it down Luke’s forehead and drops right off his nose, like those goats that fling themselves from cliffs.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The cowboy grips its reins and mane with one hand, his sole sure purchase on the almost upright animal, and flings out his free arm to balance himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The snare's "exceptionally high power" flings the ant into a bigger web at "15 times the most extreme g-forces experienced by jet pilots", said lead researcher Prof Ajay Narendra.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
You know the one: Mary Richards, smiling brightly amid the herd gathered at a crowded Minneapolis intersection, suddenly whirls and flings her tam-o’-shanter into the air.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026
Bertrand often flings bowling balls—flaming ones on New Year’s Eve—but today we’re launching spherical garden stones.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
The door flings open behind me, and Zayd runs inside, crying loudly.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
Princeton’s players flung their sticks and gloves into the air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Others rushed into the room, including three hotel security guards who flung themselves in so quickly their backs slammed against the tiled wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
"I stepped forward and I flung my arm back - that was my instant reaction," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
Once the closest point of the orbit enters the instability zone, the planet is either flung outward or pulled inward and destroyed.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026
Keeping what few wits he still had left about him, Duane flipped the cork off the flask and flung the contents in the direction of the voice just as C.C. had instructed him to do.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
What makes the act of flinging himself upside down so audacious is that it’s entirely gratuitous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
His top highlight came on an offensive rebound he snagged while falling out of bounds and saved by flinging a pass to Perry for a three-pointer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2026
"I want to demonstrate that I can make serious points by flinging a custard pie around the stage for a couple of hours," the Czech-born Stoppard said in a 1970s interview.
From Barron's ● Nov. 29, 2025
On paper, Greene has a lot going for her a Trump’s heir apparent, and she likely will get checkbooks flinging open.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2025
The stick flew up, catching against the lip of the paint can, flinging huge blobs of light-blue paint all over the inside of Doc’s cabin, and all over me and Jay, too.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
