flit

\ ˈflit

How to pronounce flit (audio)

\

flitted; flitting

Definition of flit

intransitive verb

1 : to pass quickly or abruptly from one place or condition to another

2 archaic : alter, shift

3 : to move in an erratic fluttering manner

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Examples of flit in a Sentence

butterflies flitting around the garden The hummingbird flitted from flower to flower. She was always flitting around the kitchen.

Recent Examples on the Web As if on cue, hummingbirds began to flit around one feeder, while pigeons swooped in to nibble from another. — Los Angeles Times, "Column: A cancer patient needed critical care. Because of the COVID-19 surge, she died without it," 20 Dec. 2020 These natural structures provide vital habitats for creatures like turtles and sharks, which flit in and out of the deep waters adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. — Science, "10 awesome science discoveries you may have missed in 2020," 3 Dec. 2020 In downtown Detroit, Lafayette Greens is an urban garden and public green space where visitors can watch live music, enjoy local art installations, and take community yoga classes, all while watching butterflies flit from plant to plant. — Emily Matchar, Smithsonian Magazine, "Are ‘Edible Landscapes’ the Future of Public Parks?," 16 Nov. 2020 The oxygen continues to break down, while the hydrogen is light enough to flit away from the planet forever. — Charlie Wood, Popular Science, "Mars died billions of years ago and its guts are still spilling into space," 12 Nov. 2020 That feeling when your brain tries to flit to the next thing? — Alexandra Ossola, Quartz, "Five ways to find focus despite election stress," 4 Nov. 2020 Native bees drone in sunlit meadows; warblers flit between new shrubs. — Ben Goldfarb, The Atlantic, "The West’s Animals Can’t Survive This," 30 Sep. 2020 The main characters are health-care workers, nurses and doctors who flit from patient to patient to try and stem a tide of death. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "The First Major COVID-19 Documentary Is a Brutal Watch," 24 Sep. 2020 Yellow jackets are much more aggressive than paper wasps and usually flit about your picnic spot to score free food. — René A. Guzman, ExpressNews.com, "The buzz about paper wasps: these pollinators do more good than harm in San Antonio gardens," 1 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

11 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Flit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flit. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.

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