flirt
verb [intransitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they flirt | |
| he / she / it flirts | |
| past simple flirted | |
| past participle flirted | |
| -ing form flirting |
- flirt (with somebody)
to behave towards somebody as if you find them sexually attractive, without seriously wanting to have a relationship with them 调情 He flirts outrageously with his female clients. 他肆无忌惮地跟他的女客户调情。
Word Originmid 16th cent.: apparently symbolic, the elements fl- and -irt both suggesting sudden movement; compare with flick and spurt. The original verb senses were ‘give someone a sharp blow’ and ‘sneer at’; the earliest noun senses were ‘joke, jibe’ and ‘flighty girl’ (defined by Dr Johnson as ‘a pert young hussey’), with a notion originally of cheeky behaviour, later of playfully amorous behaviour.