flutter
Americanverb (used without object)
-
flutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fluttered,
past participle, past
-
fluttering
present participle
-
to wave, flap, or toss about.
Banners fluttered in the breeze.
-
to flap the wings rapidly; fly with flapping movements.
-
to move in quick, irregular motions; vibrate.
-
to beat rapidly, as the heart.
-
to be tremulous or agitated.
-
to go with irregular motions or aimless course.
to flutter back and forth.
verb (used with object)
-
flutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fluttered,
past participle, past
-
fluttering
present participle
-
to cause to flutter; vibrate; agitate.
-
to throw into nervous or tremulous excitement; cause mental agitation; confuse.
noun
-
flutters
plural
-
a fluttering movement.
He made little nervous flutters with his hands.
-
a state of nervous excitement or mental agitation.
a flutter of anticipation.
-
Audio. a variation in pitch resulting from rapid fluctuations in the speed of a recording.
-
Chiefly British. a small wager or speculative investment.
verb
-
to wave or cause to wave rapidly; flap
-
(intr) (of birds, butterflies, etc) to flap the wings
-
(intr) to move, esp downwards, with an irregular motion
-
(intr) pathol (of the auricles of the heart) to beat abnormally rapidly, esp in a regular rhythm
-
to be or make nervous or restless
-
(intr) to move about restlessly
-
swimming to cause (the legs) to move up and down in a flutter kick or (of the legs) to move in this way
-
informal (tr) to wager or gamble (a small amount of money)
noun
-
a quick flapping or vibrating motion
-
a state of nervous excitement or confusion
-
excited interest; sensation; stir
-
informal a modest bet or wager
-
pathol an abnormally rapid beating of the auricles of the heart (200 to 400 beats per minute), esp in a regular rhythm, sometimes resulting in heart block
-
electronics a slow variation in pitch in a sound-reproducing system, similar to wow but occurring at higher frequencies
-
a potentially dangerous oscillation of an aircraft, or part of an aircraft, caused by the interaction of aerodynamic forces, structural elastic reactions, and inertia
-
swimming See flutter kick
-
Also called: flutter tonguing. music a method of sounding a wind instrument, esp the flute, with a rolling movement of the tongue
Usage
What does flutter mean? To flutter is to wave, flap, or toss, usually in reference to wings. The baby robin fluttered its wings as it prepared to fly from the nest for the first time. To flutter is to move in a quick, irregular motion or to vibrate, as when a flag flutters in a small breeze. Often, the difference between flapping and fluttering is that fluttering wings move in an irregular pattern or so fast that you cannot distinguish individual flaps. A flutter is the movement of fluttering, as in The flutter of a hummingbird’s wings is so fast that it creates a buzzing sound. A flutter is also a figurative term that describes a moment of nervousness, such as you might feel before a big exam. Some people describe it as feeling like butterflies fluttering in their stomach. A fluttering stomach is a nervous one, perhaps feeling slightly queasy. Other people describe such a feeling as a fluttering heart, particularly when they feel nervous about someone they have romantic feelings for. This, too, is figurative. In medicine, flutter is used literally to describe an irregular heartbeat, often in the term atrial flutter, which can cause irregular blood flow and different issues in the body. If your heart flutters and it’s not temporary nervousness, you should tell your doctor. Example: I always get a little flutter the night before a performance.
Synonym Usage
See fly 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fluttersimple
-
flutterssimple
-
have flutteredperfect
-
has flutteredperfect
-
am flutteringprogressive
-
are flutteringprogressive
-
is flutteringprogressive
-
have been flutteringperfect progressive
-
has been flutteringperfect progressive
Past
-
flutteredsimple
-
had flutteredperfect
-
was flutteringprogressive
-
were flutteringprogressive
-
had been flutteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flutter
First recorded before 1000; Middle English floteren, Old English floterian, frequentative of flotian “to float ”
Explanation
Flutter means to move back and forth rapidly. Flags flutter in the wind. Leaves flutter to the ground. Flutter also exists as a noun—you might feel a flutter in your heart when you're excited. To remember flutter, think of the children's rhyme, "See the butterfly flutter by." Flutter is often paired with "flit," to describe the way that birds and insects fly––they flit and flutter. It can also be used to describe indecision—someone who can't make up their mind might flutter between two choices.
Vocabulary lists containing flutter
Hot to Trot: Animal Ambulation
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Circuit
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Home of the Brave
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
As the vet administered the euthanasia that ended Cosmo’s suffering, I cooed to him Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” until his paws didn’t flutter anymore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some of them work by gently blowing air across the fabric, making it flutter and lift, so that it can then be sucked towards a gripper and clamped into place, for example.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
“It affects us all,” said Hussein, 22, who lives and works near Sparkhill, a largely Muslim neighborhood in Birmingham, where Palestinian flags flutter above shops and festoon a nearby park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
In the capital Hanoi, patriotic red-and-yellow banners flutter from lampposts and traffic lights, extolling the "national festival" where people "eagerly cast ballots".
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
Cat kicked a patch of foam and watched it flutter to the sand.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
An American flag flutters above the red brick building, while merchants cluster and converse outside its entrance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
A mud-stained Venezuelan flag, tied to a pole, flutters in the Caribbean breeze.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Iran’s flag before the 1979 revolution — green, white and red with a lion and a rising sun — flutters from many overhangs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Investors might want to listen to any flutters in their stomachs ahead of today’s Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2025
The room was almost black, and a rank smell sent flutters of panic along Tendai’s nerves.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
One second remained on the clock, and the last pass of the game fluttered in the air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Notes of well wishes fluttered against the trunk as music rang out, and the group joined hands and swayed in unison for an "elm dance", which some nature lovers and activists believe helps trees heal.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The ravenous audience, almost entirely women, fluttered dollar bills all around, while easily filling the saloon’s 300-person capacity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Hundreds of green Turkmen flags fluttered in the desert wind, held up by women in red, purple, blue and green outfits.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
Brightbill fluttered up to his mother’s shoulder and wrapped his wings around her face.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
In his hands a wafer-thin passage of clay becomes the fluttering hem of the Virgin’s mantle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
“If I’m giving a gift … I just think there’s something more personal for them opening a card and having that piece of paper come fluttering out,” Bell said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Each time the Storm drove down the court, there was Johnson, her ponytail fluttering as she skirted around the arc before driving into the paint, nonchalantly tossing up layups as if it was still shootaround.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
I’d forgotten how they looked—torn by brambles, stained and faded to the color of earth and moss, fluttering in rags and tatters.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
