flirt
verb (used without object)
to court triflingly or act amorously without serious intentions; play at love; coquet.
had been flirting
-
past perfect progressiveof flirt.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Haggis, 69, testified that he thought Breest had been flirting with him in encounters at movie premieres and occasional emails about screenings and show business, though Breest has said those interactions were just professional friendliness.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
Perdue had been flirting with the bid for months, encouraged publicly by former President Donald Trump.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2021
Before writing the screenplay, Oxford had been flirting with the idea of directing her own work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2020
Although the merger was formally announced in April 2018, T-Mobile and Sprint, the latter controlled by the Japanese conglomerate Softbank, had been flirting with a combination for years but were thwarted by political head winds.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2020
"Yet I can remember," said Stella, "when you were absolutely miserable because she had been flirting with somebody else."
From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by Compton MacKenzie
