frisk
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a leap, skip, or caper.
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a frolic or gambol.
-
the act of frisking a person.
verb
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(intr) to leap, move about, or act in a playful manner; frolic
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(tr) (esp of animals) to whisk or wave briskly
the dog frisked its tail
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(tr)
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to search (someone) by feeling for concealed weapons, etc
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to rob by searching in this way
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noun
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a playful antic or movement; frolic
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the act or an instance of frisking a person
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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frisksimple
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friskssimple
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have friskedperfect
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has friskedperfect
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am friskingprogressive
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are friskingprogressive
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is friskingprogressive
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have been friskingperfect progressive
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has been friskingperfect progressive
Past
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friskedsimple
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had friskedperfect
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was friskingprogressive
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were friskingprogressive
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had been friskingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of frisk
1425–75; late Middle English, as adj. < Middle French frisque, perhaps a spelling variant (with mute s ) of fri ( c ) que lively, smart < Germanic (compare Middle Dutch vrec, Old High German freh avaricious, Middle High German vrech brave, German frech insolent); or < Middle French (Flanders) frisque < Middle Dutch frisc fresh
Explanation
To frisk someone is to search them, usually for weapons. It’s typical for a crime show to portray a police officer frisking a suspect. The purpose of frisking is to find out if someone is carrying a particular kind of item. The person doing the frisking may be looking for weapons or a recording device. Another meaning of frisk is more light-hearted: “to play in an enthusiastic manner.” Kids running around a playground are frisking. If you say there’s frisking going on in a nearby park, you might want to clarify which meaning you’re indicating.
Vocabulary lists containing frisk
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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:
As the officers patted down Flores, the lights on the Nissan blinked — which they assumed was because their frisk had pushed a key fob in Flores’ possession.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
He began his career as a lawyer before being elected to the New York state legislature, where he championed affordable housing and worked on policing issues, notably the controversial practice known as "stop and frisk."
From Reuters ● Nov. 18, 2022
The municipality designated the area as a security risk region, giving police the authority to frisk people preventatively.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2022
Last week, Philadelphia Phillies Manager Joe Girardi asked umpires to frisk Max Scherzer for foreign substances in the middle of an inning.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 30, 2021
It was a hot night, and the park was full of townsfolk, outdoors after dinner to keep cool, strolling on the graveled walks, chatting on the benches, laughing, watching the children romp and frisk about.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Team members, wearing modified uniforms and driving unmarked cars, conduct stops, frisks and searches in their assigned neighborhoods.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Stop and frisks wouldn’t end, but Newark would have to fight crime without the rampant police stops the department had used for years.
From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2021
The landmark case found that the Fourth Amendment is not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the street and frisks them without probable cause.
From Fox News ● Feb. 11, 2020
Near the height of the stop-and-frisk strategy, in 2012, the 40th Precinct had the third-most stops in the city, the second-most stops in which officers used force and the most frisks.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2016
During the exit frisks, we’d find waffles stuffed inside pants and shirts.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Police stopped, questioned and frisked those suspected of carrying weapons or casing a business, dissuading the ill-intentioned from packing guns while reducing shootings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Sinclair said he was then frisked and locked in a cell.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
As the lights came up, an old man dozed while a teenage boy and girl frisked nearby in an unconvincing body of water.
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
The tense atmosphere was evident at Lula’s rally in Nova Iguaçu, where spectators were frisked for weapons and Lula’s chest bulged with a bulletproof vest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
At the door a deputy actually frisked me, like you see on TV.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
Nearly 39,000 frisking staff had been employed across the country to check for any prohibited items, the NTA said, and there would be 40-50 security personnel stationed at every exam centre.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The match has been designated a "high-risk" clash, with police enforcing special rules such as preventative frisking.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
“So frisking language might be like, ‘Do you have any needles that might hurt me?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2023
After a brief verbal frisking — it was weird to have a reporter drop in — the group was friendly and happy to answer questions.
From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2021
Then she uttered a charm and in a moment out from the water sprang a lamb and ran frisking away.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
