flutter

CEFRC1

/ˈflʌtə/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To move quickly and lightly through the air.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

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

Examples

  • I see a tattered flag which continues to flutter in the wind.

  • The cherry blossoms flutter down whenever the wind blows.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To undergo divergent oscillations (potentially to the point of causing structural failure) due to a positive feedback loop between elastic deformation and aerodynamic forces.

  2. To flap or wave quickly but irregularly.

  3. To cause something to flap.

More examples

In context

  • He makes young girls' hearts flutter.

  • A bird flutters its wings.

  • flags fluttering in the wind

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The small bird's wings began to blank rapidly before it flew away.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English floteren, from Old English floterian, flotorian (“to float about, flutter”), from Proto-Germanic *flutrōną, frequentative of Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float”), equivalent to float + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with West Frisian flodderje (“to flutter, beat”), Dutch flodderen (“to flutter, wave”), Low German fluttern, fluddern (“to flutter”), German flittern (“to sparkle, glitter”). More at float.