as in flitting
to make an irregular series of quick, sudden movements
the housefly darted about the room until it found an open window and flew out
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Recent Examples of darting
From corners, Bromley pack the six-yard box, with multiple players darting towards its centre.
—
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
The hungry sharks surrounded Barley in the clips, leaping out of the water and quickly darting around his Sea-Doo.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
Everyone is gagged, with their mouths agape and eyes darting around.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
As soon as the door opens, Sadie jumps up to greet Koch before darting off to grab a toy, bounding back toward Koch with her tail still wagging.
—Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
The confused drivers darting across three lanes to an exit that was there last month, but has now vanished.
—Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Guards will keep an eye on the ocean creature and in the event of aggressive behavior, such as a shark darting at surfers or swimmers, will implement a temporary beach closure.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
There was the usual assemblage of male and female Anna’s and just a couple of the Allen’s darting out occasionally from the sanctuary of the nearby tree to drink nectar from the hanging feeders.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
This time, my eyes slid to the fresh silver polish on her fingernails, her cascading perm thick but without any undergrowth, and those eyes darting from me to the cop, glistening as if on the verge of pouring.
—Literary Hub, 27 Mar. 2026
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
The hungry sharks surrounded Barley in the clips, leaping out of the water and quickly darting around his Sea-Doo.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
Everyone is gagged, with their mouths agape and eyes darting around.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
As soon as the door opens, Sadie jumps up to greet Koch before darting off to grab a toy, bounding back toward Koch with her tail still wagging.
—Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
The confused drivers darting across three lanes to an exit that was there last month, but has now vanished.
—Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
Guards will keep an eye on the ocean creature and in the event of aggressive behavior, such as a shark darting at surfers or swimmers, will implement a temporary beach closure.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
There was the usual assemblage of male and female Anna’s and just a couple of the Allen’s darting out occasionally from the sanctuary of the nearby tree to drink nectar from the hanging feeders.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
This time, my eyes slid to the fresh silver polish on her fingernails, her cascading perm thick but without any undergrowth, and those eyes darting from me to the cop, glistening as if on the verge of pouring.
—Literary Hub, 27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for darting
Verb
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This commentary was not from a wonkish TikToker nor a network pundit but from TMZ, the merciless purveyor of celebrity dirt, which published the images of Graham after a citizen vacationer noticed the senator flitting through the theme park and sent pictures.—
Paula Mejía,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
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Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, and Chace Crawford catapulted to fame playing the scheming social butterflies flitting around Gossip Girl's Upper East Side.—
Rachel DeSantis,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kick your legs in small up-and-down fluttering motions while keeping your lower back flat and abs tight throughout.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Video from the scene hours after the fire first erupted showed ash fluttering through the air and burned paper in the yards of homes across the street from the warehouse.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
New Year’s Eve brought music and dancing to the central square.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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The Moon is in your sign dancing beautifully with Mercury, Mars and Saturn, encouraging you to make sensible, practical plans for the future, especially related to travel, publishing, medicine and the law.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Maza drew in Hamburg players before flicking the ball on for Kofane, who lashed it into the top-left corner.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
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The name Dekopin in Japanese refers to flicking someone on the forehead with a finger, typically as a lighthearted punishment or joke.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Darting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/darting. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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