flit
flit — noun
1. a brief, darting trip from one spot to another, or a single quick shift of posit
a brief, darting trip from one spot to another, or a single quick shift of position
With a quick flit, the hummingbird vanished into the garden hedge.
collocation: with a quick flit
Fatima made a flit to the bakery before the lunch crowd arrived.
collocation: make a flit to + place
The editor's flit through the manuscript caught only the most glaring errors.
Javier noticed a flit of colour as the parrot streaked past the window.
A flit from classroom to classroom kept the substitute teacher busy all morning.
flit — verb
- flitpresent simple I / you / we / they
- flitshe / she / it
- flittedpast simple
- flitting-ing form
1. to travel between points with a quickness and lightness that makes the path hard
to travel between points with a quickness and lightness that makes the path hard to follow — the way a dragonfly skims over water or a sparrow darts through bushes
Theo watched the dragonfly flit from reed to reed along the pond.
flit + from + N + to + N
Sparrows flitted in and out of the old stone fountain all afternoon.
flit + in and out of + place
Mei-Lin's fingers flitted across the piano keys during the fast passage.
A bat flitted past the streetlamp and vanished into the dark alley.
Dust motes flitted through the shaft of sunlight pouring through the attic window.
- lumber
to move slowly and heavily, the opposite of light, quick movement
文法句型
flit + from + place + to + place
flit + across/through + place
flit + in and out of + place
用法筆記
Subject is typically a small creature (bird, insect, bat) or something light and fast-moving (fingers, dust, a shadow). Distinguish from sense 2 (BRIEFLY APPEAR): this sense describes physical movement through space.
常見錯誤
2. to surface for a moment in a person's awareness or expression and then vanish —
to surface for a moment in a person's awareness or expression and then vanish — like a thought crossing the mind or an emotion passing over a face
A strange thought flitted through Yara's mind while she was folding laundry.
flit + through + someone's mind
Irritation flitted across Kwame's face before he forced a polite smile.
flit + across + someone's face
The smell of a grandmother's cooking flitted briefly through Dmitri's thoughts.
An odd sense of recognition flitted across Amara's awareness as she entered the old house.
Suspicion flitted through the teacher's mind when she saw the identical test answers.
- linger
to stay in the mind or on the face for an extended time
文法句型
flit + across + someone's face
flit + through + someone's mind/thoughts
用法筆記
Subject is almost always an abstract noun — an emotion, thought, memory, or expression. Followed by 'across' (for faces and expressions) or 'through' (for minds and thoughts). Distinguish from sense 1 (DART LIGHTLY): this sense describes something non-physical appearing briefly in awareness, not physical movement.