DictionaryDefinition

- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
  Log In

flutter

1 of 2

verb

flut·terˈflə-tər How to pronounce flutter (audio)

fluttered;fluttering;flutters

Synonyms offlutter next

intransitive verb

:to flap the wings rapidly

butterfliesfluttering among the flowers

:to move with quick wavering or flapping motions

a sailfluttering in the wind

:to vibrate in irregular spasms

his heartfluttered

:to move about or behave in an agitated aimless manner

She nervouslyfluttered around the office.

transitive verb

:to cause to flutter

The bird wasfluttering its wings.

flutterer

ˈflə-tər-ər How to pronounce flutter (audio)

noun

fluttery

ˈflə-tər-ē How to pronounce flutter (audio)

adjective

flutter

2 of 2

noun

:an act offluttering

:a state of nervous confusion or excitement

:flurry,commotion

:abnormal spasmodic fluttering of a body part

treatment of atrialflutter

:a distortion in reproduced sound similar to but of a higher pitch than wow

:fluctuation in the brightness of a television image

:an unwanted oscillation (as of an aileron or a bridge) set up by natural forces

chiefly British:a small speculative venture or gamble

Synonyms

Verb

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples offlutter in a Sentence

Verb The bird wasfluttering its wings. The bird's wings werefluttering. We watched the butterfliesfluttering in the garden. Leavesfluttered to the ground. The breeze made the curtainsflutter. The breezefluttered the curtains. Shefluttered her eyelashes at him. She nervouslyfluttered around the office.Noun With aflutter of wings, the birds settled into the nest. Theflutter of the flame cast shadows on the ceiling. He was in aflutter until he found his keys. The news of her resignation caused quite aflutter. have aflutter on a horse in the second race

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.

Verb

With the Penguins leading 1-0 in the third period on Sunday in St. Paul, Crosby’sflutteringshot from the left circle just eluded Fleury’s glove and ended up as the game-winner.—

Jess Myers,Twin Cities, 10 Mar. 2025There are miles of trails and gardens to keep you busy all day, including the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, which is surrounded by gardens and filled withflutteringbutterflies.—

Kaitlyn Yarborough,Southern Living, 23 Feb. 2025

Noun

The water rushing along the roadfluttersThe dress on the corpse of a woman,As the city descends long days and nightsInto legend, which won’t compensate for its disasters.—

Czeslaw Milosz,The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025These subsequently compound on top of one another, further amplifying or minimizing facial movements like mouth size, eyelidflutters, and head tilts.—

Andrew Paul,Popular Science, 2 Jan. 2025See All Example Sentences forflutter

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle Englishfloteren to float, flutter, from Old Englishfloterian, frequentative offlotian to float; akin to Old Englishflēotan to float — more atfleet

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined atintransitive sense 1

Noun

1641, in the meaning defined atsense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use offlutter was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century