flutter

9 definitions • 10 examples

to make a series of quick delicate movements up and down or from side to side, or to cause something to do this:

Brightly coloured flags were fluttering in the breeze.

flutter down Leaves fluttered down onto the path.

flutter about Butterflies fluttered about in the sunshine.

A white bird poised on a wire and fluttered its wings.

If your heart or stomach flutters, you feel slightly uncomfortable because you are excited or nervous:

Every time I think about my exams my stomach flutters!

a short period of excited activity:

flutter of excitement The publication of her first novel last spring caused a flutter of excitement.

a small bet (= money risked), especially on a horse race:

have a flutter on Auntie Paula likes to have a bit of a flutter on the horses.

a quick up-and-down movement

to move in quick, irregular motions, or to cause something to move this way:

[ I ] The flags fluttered in the breeze.

If your heart flutters, it beats faster than usual, often from excitement.

a quick, irregular movement:

There was a flutter of wings overhead.

a small amount of money that someone risks on a bet or investment:

take/have a flutter on sth Many people nowadays take a flutter on commodities and foreign exchange.