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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

fling.

An act of throwing, often violently.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈflɪŋ/

  1. An act of throwing, often violently.

  2. An act of moving the limbs or body with violent movements, especially in a dance.

    the fling of a horse

  3. An act or period of unrestrained indulgence, enthusiasm, or both.

  4. A short romantic, oftentimes sexual, relationship.

    a summer fling
    I had a fling with a girl I met on holiday.

  5. An attempt, a try.

    figuratively
    give it a fling

  6. A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe or taunt.

    obsolete

  7. A lively Scottish country dance.

    the Highland fling

  8. A party, especially a dance party.

    a spring fling

  9. A trifling matter; an object of contempt.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English fling, from the verb (see below). Compare Icelandic flengur (“a fast sprint”).

verb/ˈflɪŋ/

  1. To throw with violence or quick movement; to hurl.

    transitive

  2. To move (oneself) abruptly or violently; to rush or dash.

    intransitive · literary

  3. To throw; to wince; to flounce.

    archaic · intransitive

  4. To utter abusive language; to sneer.

    intransitive · literary
    The scold began to flout and fling.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English flyngen, from Old Norse flengja (“to whip”), from Proto-Germanic *flangijaną (“to beat, whip”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- (“to beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k-, *pleh₂g- (“to beat”). Cognate with Icelandic flengja (“to spank”), Norwegian flengja (“to rip, tear, or fling open”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.