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Definition of fling noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fling

noun
 
/flɪŋ/
 
/flɪŋ/
 [usually singular] (informal)
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  1. a short period of fun when you do not allow yourself to worry or think seriously about anything
    • He was determined to have one last fling before retiring.
    Extra Examples
    • She's had her fling and now she's got to settle down.
    • The athlete will have one final fling before retirement.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • brief
    • little
    • summer
    • …
    verb + fling
    • have
    preposition
    • fling with
    See full entry
  2. fling (with somebody) a short sexual relationship with somebody
    • We had a brief fling, but it’s over now.
    • It was just a fling.
    Topics Family and relationshipsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • brief
    • little
    • summer
    • …
    verb + fling
    • have
    preposition
    • fling with
    See full entry
    3. see also Highland fling
    Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘go violently’): perhaps related to Old Norse flengja ‘flog’. The main verb sense is based on an earlier sense ‘reckless movement of the body’ and dates from the early 19th cent.
See fling in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: fling

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