fluttering

noun

flut·​ter·​ing ˈflə-tər-iŋ 

plural flutterings

: a quick wavering or flapping movement or sensation

felt a fluttering in his stomach

That's about as small as the perturbation of air produced by the fluttering of a butterfly's wings …

—Gary Taubes

Examples of fluttering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The eye, though, is much more parsimonious, focusing its attention only on a small part of the visual scene at any one time—namely, the part of the scene that changes, like the fluttering of a leaf or a golf ball splashing into water. —Christoph Posch, IEEE Spectrum, 26 Nov. 2025

Doctors have long tried to understand whether caffeine — which can increase heart rate and blood pressure — appears to trigger episodes that feel like a fluttering or thumping in the chest and cause dizziness or breathlessness. —Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 9 Nov. 2025

The Chinese national flag fluttering with the Lujiazui Financial District in the background. —Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2025

What led them to him wasn't a sound or a bark, but a purple flag fluttering in the wind. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fluttering

• cluttering
• guttering
• muttering
• shuttering
• spluttering
• sputtering
• stuttering
• uttering