flit

Name: flit, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/flɪt/

//flɪt// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“flit” is uncommon English (frequency #55,441 among 18,613 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,441
frequency rank, English: 18,613
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A fluttering or darting movement.

Key facts for flit
Property	Value
Headword	flit
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/flɪt/
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#55,441
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “flit” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). flit lands here:

#55,441

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

flit is uncommon English at frequency #55,441 among 18,613 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /flɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for flit in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also… The correct English form is flit, spelled F-L-I-T.

Definition

1
A fluttering or darting movement.
2
A sudden departure from a property.
3
A particular, unexpected, short lived change of state.
4
A homosexual.

Etymology

From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flit"?

"flit" is spelled F-L-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /flɪt/.

What does "flit" mean?

As a noun, "flit" means: A fluttering or darting movement.

How do you pronounce "flit"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flit" is /flɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "flit"?

From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Co... See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “flit”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is F-L-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /flɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.