fluttered; fluttering; flutters
1
: to flap the wings rapidly
butterflies fluttering among the flowers
2
a
: to move with quick wavering or flapping motions
a sail fluttering in the wind
b
: to vibrate in irregular spasms
his heart fluttered
3
: to move about or behave in an agitated aimless manner
She nervously fluttered around the office.
: to cause to flutter
The bird was fluttering its wings.
1
: an act of fluttering
2
3
a
: a distortion in reproduced sound similar to but of a higher pitch than wow
b
: fluctuation in the brightness of a television image
4
: an unwanted oscillation (as of an aileron or a bridge) set up by natural forces
5
chiefly British
: a small speculative venture or gamble
Synonyms
Examples of flutter in a Sentence
Verb
The bird was fluttering its wings.
The bird's wings were fluttering.
We watched the butterflies fluttering in the garden.
Leaves fluttered to the ground.
The breeze made the curtains flutter.
The breeze fluttered the curtains.
She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
She nervously fluttered around the office.
Noun
With a flutter of wings, the birds settled into the nest.
The flutter of the flame cast shadows on the ceiling.
He was in a flutter until he found his keys.
The news of her resignation caused quite a flutter.
have a flutter on a horse in the second race
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Recent Examples on the Web
Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Amid the bright fabric booths and fluttering banners, actors improvised in the streets, bantering with patrons.
—Gillian Bagwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Sep. 2023
At Cornell University, in a lab run by physics professor Jane Wang, PhD, paper gliders plunge, swoop, and flutter through the air.
—Sarah Wells, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023
In Hollywood and on dance floors across the world, people fluttered blue-colored lashes to the beat of pop music.
—Pia Velasco, Allure, 6 Nov. 2023
On the rooftop of a wedding planning boutique, young men clutched large red, white, black and green Palestinian flags that fluttered in the breeze.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2023
Still, as a once-avid fan of the flaming-haired singer-songwriter, something in my heart fluttered upon seeing Ed’s name on a bottle of hot sauce.
—Megan Wahn, Bon Appétit, 30 Oct. 2023
We are crouched among the towering hardwoods of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda's southwest, with orange butterflies fluttering among the plants.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2023
The curtains, which blow madly toward me during bombings, flutter in the breeze.
—Mosab Abu Toha, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2023
Adam Goldman Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
Sea oats flutter and blanket flowers (also called gaillardias) bloom yellow and red on the dunes.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2023
There’s the little flutters and everything like that.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 9 Oct. 2023
Throughout the poem flutter phrases that seem to have been occasioned by sightings of U.F.O.s.
—Kamran Javadizadeh, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
An American flag flutters over the small power plant, 200 miles upstream of Hells Canyon.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Despite featuring adolescent protagonists, this journey into maturity holds major emotional stakes but few flutters of careless abandon.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
The two-level garden feels like a slice of rainforest jungle and includes a cave-like tunnel and 20-foot waterfall, around which butterflies flutter between colorful flowers.
—Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2023
At the cultural center, a Russian tricolor flag flutters above.
—Sebastian Shukla, CNN, 18 Sep. 2023
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Verb
Western monarch numbers plummeted in the winter of 2020-2021, when less than 2,000 of the striking pollinators were counted across all of their overwintering haunts — a gasp-worthy drop from the roughly 20,000 fluttering around a few years prior.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Amid the bright fabric booths and fluttering banners, actors improvised in the streets, bantering with patrons.
—Gillian Bagwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Sep. 2023
At Cornell University, in a lab run by physics professor Jane Wang, PhD, paper gliders plunge, swoop, and flutter through the air.
—Sarah Wells, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023
In Hollywood and on dance floors across the world, people fluttered blue-colored lashes to the beat of pop music.
—Pia Velasco, Allure, 6 Nov. 2023
On the rooftop of a wedding planning boutique, young men clutched large red, white, black and green Palestinian flags that fluttered in the breeze.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2023
Still, as a once-avid fan of the flaming-haired singer-songwriter, something in my heart fluttered upon seeing Ed’s name on a bottle of hot sauce.
—Megan Wahn, Bon Appétit, 30 Oct. 2023
We are crouched among the towering hardwoods of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda's southwest, with orange butterflies fluttering among the plants.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2023
The curtains, which blow madly toward me during bombings, flutter in the breeze.
—Mosab Abu Toha, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2023
Noun
Its souvenir shop is closed, and the swimming pool has been drained, but the dining room offers three meals a day, the lobby heaves with strollers, and laundry flutters from the balconies of rooms packed with families.
—Adam Goldman Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
Sea oats flutter and blanket flowers (also called gaillardias) bloom yellow and red on the dunes.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2023
There’s the little flutters and everything like that.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 9 Oct. 2023
Throughout the poem flutter phrases that seem to have been occasioned by sightings of U.F.O.s.
—Kamran Javadizadeh, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
An American flag flutters over the small power plant, 200 miles upstream of Hells Canyon.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Despite featuring adolescent protagonists, this journey into maturity holds major emotional stakes but few flutters of careless abandon.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
The two-level garden feels like a slice of rainforest jungle and includes a cave-like tunnel and 20-foot waterfall, around which butterflies flutter between colorful flowers.
—Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2023
At the cultural center, a Russian tricolor flag flutters above.
—Sebastian Shukla, CNN, 18 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flutter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English floteren to float, flutter, from Old English floterian, frequentative of flotian to float; akin to Old English flēotan to float — more at fleet
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1641, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of flutter was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing flutter
Dictionary Entries Near flutter
Cite this Entry
“Flutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flutter. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
flutter
1 of 2 verb
flut·ter
ˈflət-ər 
1
: to move or cause the wings to move rapidly without flying or in short flights
butterflies flutter
2
: to move with quick wavering or flapping motions
flags fluttered in the breeze
3
: to move about or behave in an excited aimless manner
flutter
2 of 2 noun1
: an act of fluttering
2
3
: an unsteadiness of pitch in reproduced sound
Medical Definition
flutter
noun
flut·ter
ˈflət-ər
: an abnormal rapid spasmodic and usually rhythmic motion or contraction of a body part
diaphragmatic flutter
affected with ventricular flutter
flutter
intransitive verb
More from Merriam-Webster on flutter
Nglish: Translation of flutter for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of flutter for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about flutter
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