Verb
the birds flittered back and forth between the backyard feeder and the safety of the trees
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Where India Song’s Anna-Marie and her various colonial suitors move languidly and speechlessly through the chateau like ghosts, Jeanne Dielman is continually flittering between the chores of cooking, cleaning, and errand-running.—Erik Morse, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2024 These flittering finches are adaptable and have learned to live in cities, towns and farmland.—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Apr. 2024 Western tanagers escort rafters downstream — yellow flashes flittering from juniper to juniper.—Pete Zimowsky, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Through its evolution, the term seems to flitter between abstract and concrete.—Leo Kim, WIRED, 5 Sep. 2023 As Francis prayed before a statue of the Madonna, nearby wildfires turned the sky smoky black and sent ash flittering down on the crowd.—Nicole Winfield, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2023 The audience’s fists pumped and their shouts filled the air as bright red lasers flittered across the arena.—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 22 June 2023 Meanwhile, Donica's Lancelot is a marvelous mix of both lovesick and courageous — flittering between boldly going toe-to-toe against Arthur in battle to suddenly shrinking his towering six-foot-tall frame the minute Guenevere walks in the door.—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2023 Lopez was in the middle of discussing the film when its whirring blades began to slowly flitter into the studio.—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 19 Jan. 2023
Noun
Still, before that vista can rightly command your attention, your eyes will first flitter among the many wonders inside—from the handsome vignettes of vintage and bespoke furnishings that fill every corner of the home to the eclectic artworks that cover the walls in dense, salon-style arrangements.—Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 4 Sep. 2024 Only fountains, flitter sparklers and ground spinners are permitted.—Austindedios, oregonlive, 4 July 2023 Shadows flitter across the water.—Carson Vaughan, Outside Online, 27 Jan. 2020 Physics contains equations that describe everything from the stretching of space-time to the flitter of photons.—Quanta Magazine, 16 Jan. 2018 More than 1,000 butterflies flitter among a natural-rock waterfall, palms, and even orchids.—Patrick Sisson, Curbed, 12 June 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flitter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Share