flutter
Americanverb (used without object)
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to wave, flap, or toss about.
Banners fluttered in the breeze.
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to flap the wings rapidly; fly with flapping movements.
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to move in quick, irregular motions; vibrate.
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to beat rapidly, as the heart.
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to be tremulous or agitated.
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to go with irregular motions or aimless course.
to flutter back and forth.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to flutter; vibrate; agitate.
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to throw into nervous or tremulous excitement; cause mental agitation; confuse.
noun
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a fluttering movement.
He made little nervous flutters with his hands.
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a state of nervous excitement or mental agitation.
a flutter of anticipation.
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Audio. a variation in pitch resulting from rapid fluctuations in the speed of a recording.
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Chiefly British. a small wager or speculative investment.
verb
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to wave or cause to wave rapidly; flap
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(intr) (of birds, butterflies, etc) to flap the wings
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(intr) to move, esp downwards, with an irregular motion
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(intr) pathol (of the auricles of the heart) to beat abnormally rapidly, esp in a regular rhythm
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to be or make nervous or restless
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(intr) to move about restlessly
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swimming to cause (the legs) to move up and down in a flutter kick or (of the legs) to move in this way
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informal (tr) to wager or gamble (a small amount of money)
noun
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a quick flapping or vibrating motion
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a state of nervous excitement or confusion
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excited interest; sensation; stir
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informal a modest bet or wager
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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
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electronics a slow variation in pitch in a sound-reproducing system, similar to wow but occurring at higher frequencies
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a potentially dangerous oscillation of an aircraft, or part of an aircraft, caused by the interaction of aerodynamic forces, structural elastic reactions, and inertia
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swimming See flutter kick
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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
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fluttersimple
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flutterssimple
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have flutteredperfect
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has flutteredperfect
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am flutteringprogressive
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are flutteringprogressive
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is flutteringprogressive
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have been flutteringperfect progressive
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has been flutteringperfect progressive
Past
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flutteredsimple
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had flutteredperfect
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was flutteringprogressive
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were flutteringprogressive
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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
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The Circuit
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Home of the Brave
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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:
If you’ve caught yourself muttering Carlton Fisk wouldn’t have given anyone a fist bump, then Raleigh’s snub probably makes your cold heart flutter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
That’s the scenario posed by a new piece of commentary doing the rounds over the weekend, which has caused quite a flutter online.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 23, 2026
In Nepal's eastern plains, rival political flags depicting blue bells and red suns flutter over tea farms and brick homes -- symbols of a local election campaign shaping landmark nationwide polls.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
This summer I visited the city where I always feel the flutter of familiarity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025
She starts to sway as her eyes flutter closed, and she falls backward.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
A mud-stained Venezuelan flag, tied to a pole, flutters in the Caribbean breeze.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 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
Blue and white ribbons and streamers have been stretched high across the streets of the shopping district and, in the old port, bunting flutters from the boats bobbing in the Mediterranean.
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
It trails across the ground, flutters in the air and beguiles you, just like this film.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2024
Her hand flutters to her clavicle, to the silver chain around her neck, the claddagh charm—those tiny hands clasping a crowned heart: love, loyalty, friendship—a never-ending path that leads away from home and circles back.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Four U.A.E. flags fluttered from the roof in the afternoon breeze, while a small fleet of roughly two dozen school buses stood idle beside the compound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Amid fading light, the delicate fledglings fluttered in a wind portending a storm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
Blue-and-white Israeli flags fluttered in the wind, as mourners held the young lieutenant's portrait alongside a homemade banner reading: "We will remember forever."
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
The album covers fluttered like the display on a slot machine.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025
“Are you okay, Ma?” said the goose as he fluttered to his mother’s side.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
“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
Geishas, known as geikos in Kyoto, and apprentices called maikos have been donning elaborate costumes and fluttering fans since the Miyako Odori -- or "capital city dance" -- first started in 1872.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
The composition is utterly still, devoid of human presence and enlivened only by fluttering harbor flags and the canvas’s scintillating pinpoints of color.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
The fluttering I felt near my ankles was to mimic the sensation of a running critter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Sadie/Penny, and Marigold are clucking, their tiny wings fluttering as they step lively in the coop.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
