flurry
Americannoun
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a light, brief shower of snow.
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sudden commotion, excitement, or confusion; nervous hurry.
There was a flurry of activity before the guests arrived.
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Stock Exchange.
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a brief rise or fall in prices.
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a brief, unusually heavy period of trading.
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a sudden gust of wind.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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(of snow) to fall or be blown in a flurry.
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to move in an excited or agitated manner.
noun
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a sudden commotion or burst of activity
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a light gust of wind or rain or fall of snow
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stock exchange a sudden brief increase in trading or fluctuation in stock prices
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the death spasms of a harpooned whale
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has flurriedperfect 3rd person singular
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have flurriedperfect
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are flurryingprogressive
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have been flurryingperfect progressive
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am flurryingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been flurryingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is flurryingprogressive 3rd person singular
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flurriessingular 3rd person
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flurryingparticiple
Past
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had flurriedperfect
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was flurryingprogressive singular
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were flurryingprogressive plural
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had been flurryingperfect progressive
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flurriedsimple
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flurriedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of flurry
Explanation
A light blowing swirl of snow that's just barely falling is a flurry. There might be a brief flurry or two at the beginning of the winter, with no real heavy snow until January. You can describe a snow flurry, or a similarly swirling flurry of leaves or papers. When people act this way, rushing and fussing around, that's another kind of flurry. There might, for example, be a flurry of activity in the morning at your house as everyone hurries to get ready for the day. This sense of flurry is actually about a hundred years older than the snow meaning, which was first used in mid-1800's American English.
Vocabulary lists containing flurry
Raining Cats and Dogs
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myPerspectives 10.3
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Hands
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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.
Amid the flurry of publicity for “Alice and Steve,” Walker isn’t sure what comes next; the series ends with a very dramatic cliffhanger, which could set up a second season.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
The introduction of powerful models capable of carrying out cyberattacks, a backlash against data centers that power models and challenges for recent college graduates finding jobs have sparked the flurry of new bills, lawmakers said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Twelve months later, she reached another Melbourne final - and a flurry of mistakes saw her squander a break lead in the deciding set against Elena Rybakina.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
The flurry of activity is helping the cooling stocks.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
In low tones, she told her husband that there had been “a burglary,” a remark which—repeated by a well-meaning eavesdropper to his neighbor—spread rapidly around the room and generated a flurry of unwanted concern.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
