flirt

UK/flɜːt//flɚt/

flirt noun: a sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion.

Noun

flirt (plural flirts)

A sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion
- several little flirts and vibrations1711 July 7 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “TUESDAY, June 27, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 102; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New...
- with many a flirt and flutter1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y.; London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC
Someone who flirts a lot or enjoys flirting; a flirtatious person.
- 'Oooh, don't.' Lilly staggered behind the counter. 'Hangover from hell. We had a good time, I think. He's such a flirt though. He really fancied Midnight. Was sooo gutted that she was actually a straight man. Think it almost turned him celibate.'2011, Christina Jones, Never Can Say Goodbye
- Several young flirts about town had a design to cast us out of the fashionable world.July 16, 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian No. 109
An act of flirting.
A tentative or brief, passing engagement with something.
- However, after a brief flirt with socialist realism , this method was abandoned and strict controls were removed after 1948. By the early 1950s, writers had earned the right to use any method and to experiment.1986, The Reader's Adviser
- Manufacturers are being stung into action on both sides of the Atlantic as climbers consult their lawyers after a flirt with gravity. Of course responsible manufacturers already exercise great care with all aspects of safety and testing.1988, Mountain
(dialectal) A brief shower (of rain or snow).
- In the course of the month, there were three flirts of snow, […]1842, Hazard's United States Commercial and Statistical Register, page 218
- [page 59:] A flirt of snow; after which, mild and pleasant weather, (with occasional showers) continued through the remainder of the month.
  [page 220:] The medium temperature of this month was 45, and it produced much mild and pleasant weather, interspersed with some rainy days, and a few flirts of...1847, Charles Peirce, A Meteorological Account of the Weather in Philadelphia: From January 1, 1790, to January 1, 1847, Including Fifty-seven Years; with an Appendix...
(with-definite-article) Russula vesca, an edible woodland mushroom.

Verb

flirt (third-person singular simple present flirts, present participle flirting, simple past and past participle flirted)

(transitive) To throw (something) with a jerk or sudden movement; to fling.
- They flirt water in each other's faces.
- to flirt a glove, or a handkerchief
(archaic, intransitive) To jeer at; to mock.
- I am ashamed; I am scorned; I am flirted.1621 (first performance), John Fletcher, “The Wild-Goose Chase; a Comedy”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, Act...
- Asinius Pollio[…], having written many invectives against Plancus, staid untill he were dead to publish them. It was rather to flurt at a blind man, and raile in a dead mans eare, and to offend a senselesse man, than incurre the danger of his revenge.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 27, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
(intransitive) To dart about; to move with quick, jerky motions.
- Her skirt flirted around her knees like a flower petal.2012, Lenora Worth, Sweetheart Reunion
(transitive) To blurt out.
- Chatterer flirted his tale in the saucy way he has, and his eyes twinkled.1915, Thornton W. Burgess, chapter XXI, in The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company
(intransitive) To play at courtship; to talk with light affection, to imply sexual attraction in a playful (especially conversational) way.
- Of course, the young people flirted, for that diversion is apparently irradicable even in the "best society".1876, Louisa May Alcott, “Scarlet Stockings”, in Silver Pitchers: and Independence
- Dr Hutchinson, who told jurors that he had been married for 37 years and that his son was a policeman, said he enjoyed flirting with the woman, was flattered by her attention and was anticipating patting her bottom again - but had no intention of seducing her.2006 April 22, “Accuser was flirting, says don”, in The Guardian
(intransitive) To experiment, or tentatively engage, with; to become involved in passing with.
- I've thrown away my reputation, self-respect, money, health and happiness through the use of drugs and alcohol; I can teach her how fragile a reputation is, how a fool and their money are soon parted, and how dangerous it is to flirt with drugs.2009, Kenneth Lavoie, Hold Daddy's Hand: A Father's ageless book of wisdom for his daughter
- The various episodes of thinkers flirting with the idea of an infinite universe, starting with early Greek speculations and running through Cusa in the Renaissance, came to fruition as a central element in the Scientific Revolution.2014, David R. Topper, Idolatry and Infinity: Of Art, Math, and God, page 67

Adjective

flirt (not comparable)

Flirtatious.
- He had “large dark blue eyes, wide open, very coquet, very flirt in the way he looked at you.”2005, Constance Crawford, Babette: Elisabeth Ullman Wills, page 57
- Now Maggie knew that he was flirt and for the most part it didn't bother her when he flirted with other girls because she knew that at the end of the day she was the one that he would end up kissing.2010, Tasha Harper, Her Wall, page 227

Proper noun capitalized: FLiRT

FLiRT

A subvariant of the Omicron variant, scientifically known as KP.2 and KP.1.1.

flirt meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

flirt in Hindi

flirt, coquette: तितली titlī
to flirt, coquet: मटकना maṭaknā
to flirt, to pass sexual comments, to try wooing someone: छेड़ना cheṛnā

flirt in Tamil

act of flirting: கடலை kaṭalai
to throw with a jerk: எறி eṟi, தெளி teḷi
to play at courtship: கடலை போடு kaṭalai pōṭu

flirt in Urdu

flirt, coquette: تتلی titlī

More languagesFewer languages

flirt in Bengali: ফ্লার্ট করা, ফ্লার্ট করতে
flirt in Telugu: సరసాలాడటం, సరసాలాడడం, సరసాలాడటానికి
flirt in Malayalam: കൊഞ്ചിക്കുഴയുക, പഞ്ചാരയടിക്കുക, ചലിപ്പിക്കുക, വിലസുക
flirt in Kannada: ಸೋಗುಕಾದಲ, ಚೆಲ್ಲಾಟವಾಡುವವಳು, ಚೆಲ್ಲಾಟವಾಡುವವನು, ಪ್ರಣಯವಿಲಾಸಿ
flirt in Punjabi: ਤਿਤਲੀ titlī
flirt in Gujarati: ચેનચાળા કરવી, ફ્લર્ટ કરવા માટે
flirt in Odia: ଫ୍ଲର୍ଟ କରିବା ପାଇଁ
flirt in Assamese: চেনি seni
flirt in Nepali: फ्लर्ट गर्न, फ्लर्ट गर्नाका लागि
flirt in Persian: لاسیدن lâsidan

Examples of flirt in a sentence

an angry hectic in each cheek, a fierce flirt of her fan, and two or three short sniffs that betokened mischief1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
Receiving a chair in Stockholm 1904 – after a passing flirt with the Historical School and social reform – he became an enigmatic Walrasian.2014, Vincent Barnett, Routledge Handbook of the History of Global Economic Thought, Routledge, →ISBN:
Morning broke with chilling flirts of rain.1864, Josiah Gilbert, G. C. Churchill, The Dolomite Mountains: Excursions Through Tyrol, Carinthia, Carniola, and Friuli in 1861, 1861, and...
But joy came in the morning : first a glimpse of blue sky between the flirts of rain, then a sign of the sun.1875, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Ultima Thule: Or, A Summer in Iceland, page 316:

All 40 example sentences with flirt

Synonyms of flirt

charm
come on to
coquet
fool around
get fresh
hit on
make a move on
make an advance
make eyes at
play the field

4 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of flirt

Forms of flirt

Noun
plural	flirts
Verb
third-person singular present	flirts
present participle	flirting
past participle	flirted
past	flirted

Past tense of flirt: flirted

Plural of flirt: flirts

Origin of flirt

1553, from the merger of Early Modern English flirt (“to flick”), flurt (“to mock, jibe, scorn”), and flirt, flurt (“a giddy girl”). Of obscure origin and relation. Apparently related to similar words in Germanic, all of apparently onomatopoeic origin, compare Low German flirt (“a flick of the fingers, a light blow”), Low German flirtje (“a giddy girl”), Low German flirtje (“a flirt”), German Flittchen (“a flirt; tart; hussy”), Norwegian flira (“to giggle, titter”). Compare also Early Modern English jillflirt, gillian flirt, and flirt-gill (“a flirt”), and Scots flird (“a trifling", also, "to jibe, jeer at, talk idly, flirt, flaunt”), which is perhaps from Middle English flerd (“mockery, fraud, deception”), from Old English fleard (“nonsense, vanity, folly, deception”); potentially related to Icelandic flærð (“trickiness, deceit”), Swedish flärd (“vanity, frivolity, flamboyance”), Dutch flard (“tatter, shred”). See flird.

Words formed from flirt

Words that rhyme with flirt

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about flirt

What does flirt mean?: Flirt means a sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion.
What is flirt in Hindi?: Flirt in Hindi is तितली (titlī), मटकना (maṭaknā), छेड़ना (cheṛnā). See Flirt meaning in Hindi.
How do you use flirt in a sentence?: an angry hectic in each cheek, a fierce flirt of her fan, and two or three short sniffs that betokened mischief
What part of speech is flirt?: Flirt can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce flirt?: Flirt is pronounced /flɜːt/ (UK).
What is the plural of flirt?: The plural of flirt is flirts.

Words near flirt in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-flirt.ogg.

Cite this entry: “flirt.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/flirt. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.