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flutter

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flut⋅ter

  [fluht-er]
Use flutter in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to wave, flap, or toss about: Banners fluttered in the breeze.
2. to flap the wings rapidly; fly with flapping movements.
3. to move in quick, irregular motions; vibrate.
4. to beat rapidly, as the heart.
5. to be tremulous or agitated.
6. to go with irregular motions or aimless course: to flutter back and forth.
–verb (used with object)
7. to cause to flutter; vibrate; agitate.
8. to throw into nervous or tremulous excitement; cause mental agitation; confuse.
–noun
9. a fluttering movement: He made little nervous flutters with his hands.
10. a state of nervous excitement or mental agitation: a flutter of anticipation.
11. flutter kick.
12. Audio. a variation in pitch resulting from rapid fluctuations in the speed of a recording. Compare wow 2 (def. 1).
13. Chiefly British. a small wager or speculative investment.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME floteren, OE floterian, freq. of flotian to float

Related forms:
flut⋅ter⋅er, noun
flut⋅ter⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. See fly 1 . 10. flurry, twitter, stir, dither.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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flut·ter   (flŭt'ər)   
v.   flut·tered, flut·ter·ing, flut·ters

v.   intr.

  1. To wave or flap rapidly in an irregular manner: curtains that fluttered in the breeze.

    1. To fly by a quick light flapping of the wings.

    2. To flap the wings without flying.

  3. To move or fall in a manner suggestive of tremulous flight: "Her arms rose, fell, and fluttered with the rhythm of the song" (Evelyn Waugh).

  4. To vibrate or beat rapidly or erratically: My heart fluttered wildly.

  5. To move quickly in a nervous, restless, or excited fashion; flit.

v.   tr.
To cause to flutter: "fluttering her bristly black lashes as swiftly as butterflies' wings" (Margaret Mitchell).
n.  

  1. The act of fluttering.

  2. A condition of nervous excitement or agitation: Everyone was in a flutter over the news that the director was resigning.

  3. A commotion; a stir.

  4. Pathology Abnormally rapid pulsation, especially of the atria or ventricles of the heart.

  5. Rapid fluctuation in the pitch of a sound reproduction resulting from variations in the speed of the recording or reproducing equipment.

  6. Chiefly British A small bet; a gamble: "If they like a flutter, Rick will get them better odds than the bookies" (John le Carré).


[Middle English floteren, from Old English floterian; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]
flut'ter·er n., flut'ter·y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

flutter 
O.E. floterian "float to and fro, be tossed by waves," freq. of fleotan "to fleet" (see fleet (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: flut·ter
Pronunciation: 'fl&t-&r
Function: noun
: an abnormal rapid spasmodic and usually rhythmic motion or contraction of a bodypart flutter> flutter> —flutter intransitive verb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

flutter flut·ter (flŭt'ər)
n.
Abnormally rapid pulsation, especially of the atria or ventricles of the heart.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

flutter

in sound reproduction, waver in a reproduced tone or group of tones that is caused by irregularities in turntable or tape drive speed during recording, duplication, or reproduction. Low-frequency irregularities (as one per revolution of a turntable, referred to as "once arounds") cause wow and are recognized aurally as fluctuations in pitch. Irregularities that occur at higher frequencies are called flutter and cause a roughening of the tone: a piano sounds like a harp, and voices waver with small, rapid variations above and below proper pitch. Included among the causes of flutter and wow in disks are high spots in drive rollers and an off-centre hole in the disk. In tape and film reproducers, characteristic causes include nonuniform tension in take-up and payoff reels and mechanical distortion of the tape. Low-frequency background noise, either recorded on disk or tape from the recording mechanism or added to the reproduced tone from the reproducing mechanism, is known as rumble and is usually the result of vibration of the drive mechanism

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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