flirt
verb/flɜːt/
/flɜːrt/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they flirt | /flɜːt/ /flɜːrt/ |
| he / she / it flirts | /flɜːts/ /flɜːrts/ |
| past simple flirted | /ˈflɜːtɪd/ /ˈflɜːrtɪd/ |
| past participle flirted | /ˈflɜːtɪd/ /ˈflɜːrtɪd/ |
| -ing form flirting | /ˈflɜːtɪŋ/ /ˈflɜːrtɪŋ/ |
- flirt (with somebody) to behave towards somebody as if you find them sexually attractive, without seriously wanting to have a relationship with them
- He flirts outrageously with his female clients.
Word Originmid 16th cent.: apparently symbolic, the elements fl- and -irt both suggesting sudden movement; compare with flick and spurt. The original verb senses were ‘give someone a sharp blow’ and ‘sneer at’; the earliest noun senses were ‘joke, jibe’ and ‘flighty girl’ (defined by Dr Johnson as ‘a pert young hussey’), with a notion originally of cheeky behaviour, later of playfully amorous behaviour.Definitions on the go
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