How to use flutter in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Flutter means to flap or wave quickly but irregularly. Example: “A bird flutters its wings.”

Examples of flutter by meaning

verbTo flap or wave quickly but irregularly.

flags fluttering in the wind

verbOf a winged animal: to flap the wings without flying; to fly with a light flapping of the wings.

Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes.1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, “The Council with the Munchkins”, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge]...

verbTo cause something to flap.

A bird flutters its wings.

verbTo be in a state of agitation or uncertainty.

It was fluttering with nervousness like a human heart.c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City...

verbTo subject to a lie detector test.

This was the first time that Nosenko had been subjected to a lie detector — or what the CIA called fluttering.1978, Edward Jay Epstein, Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald, page 38

nounThe act of fluttering, or multiple acts thereof; the back-and-forth motion of fluttering; a state of fluttering.

The eagle soared across the horizon with just a few slow flutters of its wings. The flutter of insects and bats is more rapid. Some birds also use non-flight flutters as communication and in thermoregulation.
Fish move using a flutter of their body to propel themselves through the water. Some also derive propulsion or maneuverability from their fins' flutter.
Some turtles use their claw flutter as a means of communication, particularly in mating.

nounThe collective flutter of many similar objects.

leaf flutter; feather flutter
The flutter of the flock buffeted me.
Was it the flutter of fairy beings around the form of a lovely maiden?1901, Vida Dutton Scudder, Introduction to the Study of English, Globe School Book Company, page 339

nounA flapping, crackling or rustling sound, as from a fluttering motion or any comparable sound; any series of quick...

I eventually found the source of the flutter, which came from clothes on a clothesline swaying with the wind.
I find the flutter of a campfire to be soothing like a lullaby.
The wind causes a flutter in the barley in the field.

More sentences with flutter

When we made eye contact, my heart fluttered and chills ran down my spine.From the entry chills
You need treatment for your atrial flutter.From the entry atrial flutter
I see signs that his heart is experiencing atrial flutter.From the entry atrial flutter
My heart fluttered like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, accompanied by an ocean of joyful tears.2026, Lyndon Fitzgerald Harris, Forgiveness at Ground Zero: A Journey of Service, Loss, and Redemption After 9/11, Bloomsbury Publishing…. From the entry kaleidoscope
You will see a tiny flutter, a shiver, a vibration along the luff.2026, S. Williams, Sailing Basics (Points of Sail, Trimming): Harnessing Wind, NFT Publishing. From the entry vibration
Examples of this type of issue include atrial flutter and ventricular tachycardia.2024 March 15, “Heart Rate”, in Cleveland Health, archived from the original on 07 Aug 2024. From the entry tachycardia
He watched confusion start to flicker in her eyes , followed by a flutter of panic.2024, Carol Marinelli, Bride Under Contract, Harlequin. From the entry flicker
Appearing to flutter across the facade is a run of aluminum fins powder-coated a pearly white.2023 February 6, Wilson Barlow, “A Bedding Manufacturer’s Office Nods to Down Feathers”, in Interior Design. From the entry laboratorylike
There was no flutter of claws requiring me to blast a tape.2022, Quiara Alegría Hudes, My Broken Language, Random House Publishing Group. From the entry blast
Her heart fluttered, then stilled when May snapped the image away and her voice brittled.2020, Alys Murray, The Magnolia Sisters. From the entry brittle
Jenny's pulse took a flutter at the word 'newspaper' now knowing that she was guilty.2016 -, Laurie Pegrum, Looking at Clouds, page 218. From the entry take a flutter
Behind her, she heard the flutter of cards being shuffled back into the pack.2015, Abra S.W., A Circus of Brass and Bone, Bimulous Books. From the entry shuffle
The slow flutter of his vibrato gives a melancholy tinge to the proceedings.2014, Donna Soto-Morettini, Popular Singing and Style, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 221. From the entry give
Lady Mary – the Queen's handmaiden – was Ser Gawain's lady; her veil fluttered from his shoulder.2014 January 16, Miles Cameron, The Fell Sword, Hachette UK, →ISBN. From the entry ser
"That's a possibility," Sturdevant answered with a flutter of the eyes, "but by no means a certainty."2014, Richard Curtis, Death in the Crease, Open Road Media. From the entry certainty
Elise nodded, fighting the traitorous flutters of excitement in her stomach.2013, Linda Skye, A Dance with Indecency. From the entry excitement
He felt a flutter of panic, a commotion of mothy wings at his throat.2012, Griffin Hansbury, The Nostalgist. From the entry mothy
Patients with previous ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) may experience recurrence of perimitral flutter (PMFL).2012, Bai R, Di Biase L, Mohanty P, Dello Russo A, Casella M, Pelargonio G, Themistoclakis S, Mohanty S, Elayi CS, Sanchez J, Burkhardt…. From the entry perimitral
Hughes takes a flutter on the nearest six, nickel bets on thirty-one to thirty-six.2010, Steven Manners, Valley of Fire. From the entry take a flutter
At the word "treats," Jelly Bean jerked up her head and a sub-woofer wuffle fluttered her nostrils.2009, Anne Louise MacDonald, Seeing Red, Kids Can Press, →ISBN, page 181. From the entry wuffle
A dining needle went by as he fluttered his many wings.2007, Harvey Rothenstein, The Big Picture and the Adventures of Life, →ISBN, page 47. From the entry dining needle
Pi fluttered over to take his rightful place on Phi's rotundous rear end.2003, Tiko Campbell, The Light in the Stones, page 105. From the entry rotundous
"I want to release you from your oath," he said, a slight flutter in his voice.2002, David B. Coe, Rules of Ascension, Tom Doherty Associates, page 127. From the entry oath
Yukata, however, do not have flutter sleeves, as they are considered too dressy for this informal kimono.1988, John Marshall, Make Your Own Japanese Clothes: Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear, Kodansha International, →ISBN, page 45. From the entry yukata
The recording speed is also of importance in detecting flutters of high frequency.1985, Robert Kraus, The Practice of Echocardiography, page 143. From the entry importance
The hyoid bone in her throat flutters as if discharging some subvocal rosary.1969, JG Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition. From the entry hyoid

Meaning of flutter

verb To flap or wave quickly but irregularly.
verb Of a winged animal: to flap the wings without flying; to fly with a light flapping of the wings.
verb To undergo divergent oscillations (potentially to the point of causing structural failure) due to a positive feedback loop between elastic deformation and aerodynamic forces.

Full definition of flutter

Questions about flutter in a sentence

How do you use flutter in a sentence?: Flutter is used as a verb and noun. For example: “A bird flutters its wings.”
What is a short sentence with flutter?: “leaf flutter; feather flutter”
What does flutter mean?: Flutter means to flap or wave quickly but irregularly.

Adapted from Wiktionary: flutter (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use flutter in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/flutter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.