What does "flirt" mean?
A sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion
Flirt
/flɝt/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion
- Grammar: flirt is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: coquet, coquette, dally, flirtation.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, commit, commit to.
- Usage evidence: I can't help it if girls want to flirt with me.
How to use "flirt"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flirt" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flirt" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flirt" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flirt" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flirt" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "coquet" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flirt", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion
"several little flirts and vibrations"
- 2 playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest wordnet
- 3 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.'"
- 4 a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men wordnet
- 5 An act of flirting.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 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."
- 7 A brief shower (of rain or snow). dialectal
"In the course of the month, there were three flirts of snow, […]"
- 8 Russula vesca, an edible woodland mushroom. with-definite-article
Verb
- 1 To throw (something) with a jerk or sudden movement; to fling. transitive
"They flirt water in each other's faces."
- 2 talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions wordnet
- 3 To jeer at; to mock. archaic, intransitive
"I am ashamed; I am scorned; I am flirted."
- 4 behave carelessly or indifferently wordnet
- 5 To dart about; to move with quick, jerky motions. intransitive
"Her skirt flirted around her knees like a flower petal."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To blurt out. transitive
"Chatterer flirted his tale in the saucy way he has, and his eyes twinkled."
- 7 To play at courtship; to talk with teasing affection, to insinuate sexual attraction in a playful (especially conversational) way. intransitive
"Of course, the young people flirted, for that diversion is apparently irradicable even in the "best society"."
- 8 To experiment, or tentatively engage, with; to become involved in passing with. intransitive
"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."
Adjective
- 1 Flirtatious. not-comparable
"He had “large dark blue eyes, wide open, very coquet, very flirt in the way he looked at you.”"
Proper Noun
- 1 A subvariant of the Omicron variant, scientifically known as KP.2 and KP.1.1.
Example
"I can't help it if girls want to flirt with me."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flirt"?
Common synonyms include: coquet, coquette, dally, flirtation, tease, allure.
How do you use "flirt" in a sentence?
I can't help it if girls want to flirt with me.
How do you pronounce "flirt"?
Pronounced /flɝt/.
Etymology
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.