flit
/flɪt
/verb (flits, flitting, flitted) [no object, with adverbial of direction]
1Move swiftly and lightly: small birds flitted about in the branches figurative the idea had flitted through his mind...
- His green eyes flitted over her, swiftly taking in every inch from her boots to the hat shrouding her face from the sun.
- Birds were chirping, flitting from one twig to another.
- I sat very still, and watched as various birds flitted about the yard and in the fig tree.
Synonyms
dart, dance, skip, play, dash, trip, flick, skim, flutter, bob, bounce, spring, scoot, hop, gambol, caper, cavort, prance, frisk, scamper
informal beetle
1.1 [no object] chiefly Scottish & Northern English Move house or leave one’s home, typically secretly so as to escape creditors or obligations.
noun British informal
An act of moving house or leaving one’s home, typically secretly so as to escape creditors or obligations: moonlight flits from one insalubrious dwelling to another...
- Crowds have swelled to capacity, increasing pressure for the club to move to a 55,000-ground at the waterfront, a flit which remains uncertain for financial reasons.
- Sleeping through the night was inconceivable, too, as official visits outside the working day, very early in the morning or long after work, were the most productive in an industry well acquainted with the overnight flit.
- The portents are that, despite all the problems, the outcome is a foregone conclusion and he will not need to call in the removal men next year for a flit to his new £3.5m gaff.
Origin
Middle English (in the Scots and northern English sense): from Old Norse flytja; related to fleet4.