frisk

verb \ ˈfrisk \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of frisk

frisked; frisking; frisks

: to leap, skip, or dance in a lively or playful way : gambol

: to search (a person) for something (such as a concealed weapon) by running the hand rapidly over the clothing and through the pockets

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frisker

noun

See frisk defined for English-language learners

See frisk defined for kids

Examples of frisk in a Sentence

carefree kids laughing and frisking about in their backyard

Recent Examples of frisk from the Web

The Coast Guard rescued the group — then immediately detained and frisked Sánchez and his friends and reported them to ICE.

— kavitha surana, Philly.com, "How immigration officers can get away with racial profiling," 8 June 2018
Every year, more than 75 percent of the people who were stopped and frisked by the New York City Police Department were black or Latino.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Unprotected, Underserved: The (False) Criminalization of Black America," 25 June 2018
Many were indignant but not surprised that this had happened in Philadelphia, where police have been criticized for disproportionately stopping and frisking black residents.

— NBC News, "As Starbucks closes for bias training, black-owned coffee shops open their doors wider," 29 May 2018
The ministry accused Turkey of subjecting Naeh to a particularly severe security screening at the airport in Istanbul and inviting local Turkish media to capture the humiliation of him being frisked and forced to remove his shoes and jacket.

— aron heller, Fox News, "Israel-Turkey spat escalates over Gaza violence," 17 May 2018
Officers said they were particularly upset by the way Cook and his command staff treated Brandon Smith, a street-level officer who stopped, handcuffed and frisked a black man who turned out to be the chief’s brother.

— rachel weiner, Washington Post, "Shake-up exposes rift in Alexandria police department over discipline," 14 May 2018
Embellished Narratives In recent years, the number of times police stopped and frisked pedestrians has declined precipitously.

— joseph goldstein, New York Times, "‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem," 18 Mar. 2018
Long lines of voters gathered in Bogota outside polling centers on an overcast day and police frisked people in at least one site — a legacy perhaps of when voting centers were targeted by leftist rebels who considered the political system a sham.

— christine armario and joshua goodman, BostonGlobe.com, "Conservative tops Colombia presidential vote but runoff needed," 28 May 2018
To enter the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales, customers must undergo months of background checks — six documents are required — and then be frisked by uniformed soldiers.

— kate linthicum, latimes.com, "There is only one gun store in all of Mexico. So why is gun violence soaring?," 24 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of frisk

obsolete frisk lively

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1519

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

frisk Synonyms

Synonyms

caper, cavort, disport, frolic, gambol, lark, rollick, romp, sport;

Near Antonyms

mope, pout, stew, sulk;

dance, prance;

carouse, revel, roister;

carry on, fool around, horse around;

clown, cut up;

joyride, roughhouse, skylark;

kite;

Phrases

cut capers, kick up one's heels;

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

frisk

noun

Definition of frisk

1 a archaic : caper

b : gambol, romp

c : diversion

2 : an act of frisking

Examples of frisk in a Sentence

fondly remembers the summer before he started college as one long frisk

Recent Examples of frisk from the Web

Stop-and-frisk became a key feature of the overall strategy to reduce crime.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "What London Can Learn From New York About Crime," 3 Apr. 2018
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has signed off on a $3.4 million settlement with the ACLU of Wisconsin over police stop-and-frisk practices after the Common Council approved it earlier this week.

— ashley luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett signs off on $3.4 million settlement in ACLU stop-and-frisk lawsuit," 13 July 2018
His controversial stop-and-frisk police policies alienated many black and Hispanic voters in New York, and the issue would surely come back to haunt him in a primary.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Report: Michael Bloomberg Is, Once Again,Thinking of Running for President," 26 June 2018
The policy resulted in an increase in arrests for smaller offenses like vandalism, prostitution, loitering, disorderly conduct, and public intoxication—and in the proliferation of stop and frisk.

— lucy nicholson, Marie Claire, "The Number of Women in Jail Is Up 1,260%—What Are They Doing Wrong?," 17 Aug. 2016
Do homicides go up in cities with stop-and-frisk requirements like Chicago's?

— salvador rizzo, chicagotribune.com, "Jeff Sessions' claim that an ACLU settlement with Chicago caused murders to spike," 14 May 2018
Do homicides go up in cities with stop-and-frisk requirements like Chicago’s?

— salvador rizzo, Washington Post, "Jeff Sessions’s claim that an ACLU settlement with Chicago caused murders to spike," 14 May 2018
The law was passed in December in response to allegations of unnecessary and unjustified stop-and-frisk searches by the NYPD, says the legislation.

— tony marco, CNN, "If you're stopped by the NYPD an officer will now give you a business card in case you want the bodycam footage," 9 May 2018
That added precision, police say, makes indiscriminate stop-and-frisks less likely, and builds upon the second piece: improving the department's fractured relationship with the public.

— jon schuppe and andrew blankstein /, NBC News, "Chicago's gun-torn South Side sees reason for hope as shootings drop," 9 May 2018

First Known Use of frisk

1525

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

FRISK Defined for English Language Learners

frisk

verb

Definition of frisk for English Language Learners

: to pass your hands over (someone) to search for something that may be hidden in clothing

FRISK Defined for Kids

frisk

verb \ ˈfrisk \

Definition of frisk for Students

frisked; frisking

1 : to move around in a lively or playful way

2 : to search a person quickly for something that may be hidden

Law Dictionary

frisk

transitive verb

legal Definition of frisk

: to run the hand rapidly over the outer clothing of (a suspect) for the purpose of finding concealed weapons — compare search

Note: The purpose of frisking a suspect is to insure the safety of an officer making an investigation against concealed weapons, not to uncover evidence. The officer must be justified in his or her encounter of the suspect and must have a reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed. The scope of the frisk must be limited to the discovery of weapons.

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