frisk
Americanverb (used without object)
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frisks,
present (3rd person singular)
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frisked,
past participle, past
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frisking
present participle
verb (used with object)
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frisks,
present (3rd person singular)
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frisked,
past participle, past
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frisking
present participle
noun
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a leap, skip, or caper.
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a frolic or gambol.
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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
“We have a law that’s used for something akin to stop and frisk and punishes people for living in areas without safe infrastructure,” said Hester Serebrin, policy director for the Transportation Choices Coalition.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
White was with the unit because she could do things — such as frisk women wearing burqas — that men couldn’t.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2023
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
Removing a hand from the wall before the frisk was complete constituted aggression at most other facilities, though at Sing Sing it usually prompted merely a warning.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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
Even with recorded stops receding, however, broad swaths of officers are yet unable to articulate a rationale for the ones they carry out, or for the frisks that often follow, Mr. Zimroth’s report said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 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
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 two officers checked De Zoysa's bag, his waistband and frisked his legs, but somehow they missed the gun in the holster under his arm.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2023
That’s when Troyer called in the emergency response, leading to Altheimer getting detained and frisked for weapons.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2022
Seals frisked around the ship, showing their clown faces above the water before sinking back without a splash.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Nervous students were met with biometric identification checks, metal detectors, armoured patrols and frisking at exam centres on Sunday morning.
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
The TV audience’s response to the bit — which carried on into frisking presenters Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa per the Academy’s “protocol” — was mixed on Twitter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2022
Yes, the internet of things — our things — is coming alive around us, digitally frisking us as we walk by to see if we’re carrying anything of interest.
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
In the foyer, one officer was frisking Ronnie.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
