Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To throw with violence: synonym: throw.
  • intransitive verb To put or send suddenly or unexpectedly.
  • intransitive verb To engage (oneself) in an activity with abandon and energy.
  • intransitive verb To cast aside; discard.
  • intransitive verb To move quickly, violently, or impulsively.
  • noun The act of flinging.
  • noun A brief period of indulging one's impulses.
  • noun Informal A usually brief attempt or effort.
  • noun A brief, casual sexual or romantic relationship.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A sudden or rapid throwing; a whipping action; a sidewise motion with respect to the principal direction of motion: as, the fling of a connecting-rod.
  • noun A throw; a cast from the hand.
  • noun Entire freedom of action; wild dash into pleasure, adventure, or excitement of any kind; enjoyment of pleasure to the full extent of one's opportunities.
  • noun A lively Scotch country-dance; a reel or hornpipe, especially of the kind called the Highland fling, usually danced by one person.
  • noun A gibe; a sneer; a sarcasm; a severe or contemptuous remark.
  • noun A slight, trifling matter: in the following proverb:
  • To throw, cast, or hurl; especially, to throw with force, violence, or swiftness, with ardor, vehemence, disdain, impatience, or indifference: as, the waves flung the ship upon the rocks; his antagonist flung him to the ground; to fling a sarcasm at an opponent; they flung themselves suddenly upon the enemy; to fling a penny to a beggar.
  • To throw aside or off, as a burden.
  • To get rid of.
  • To act by throwing in some particular way; discharge a missile, or something analogous to a missile.
  • To aim a blow, as with a weapon; let fly.
  • To hasten; fly; rush.
  • To start away with a sudden motion, as in token of displeasure; rush away in anger.
  • To fly into violent and irregular motions; flounce; throw out the legs violently, as a horse; kick.
  • To utter harsh or abusive language; upbraid; sneer: as, she began to flout and fling.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To throw; to wince; to flounce.
  • intransitive verb To cast in the teeth; to utter abusive language; to sneer.
  • intransitive verb To throw one's self in a violent or hasty manner; to rush or spring with violence or haste.
  • intransitive verb to become ugly and intractable; to utter sneers and insinuations.
  • transitive verb To cast, send, to throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart; to emit with violence as if thrown from the hand.
  • transitive verb To shed forth; to emit; to scatter.
  • transitive verb To throw; to hurl; to throw off or down; to prostrate; hence, to baffle; to defeat.
  • transitive verb to throw on all sides; to scatter.
  • transitive verb to reject; to discard.
  • transitive verb To overturn; to demolish; to ruin.
  • transitive verb to throw in; not to charge in an account; as, in settling accounts, one party flings in a small sum, or a few days' work.
  • transitive verb to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey; also, to get rid of.
  • transitive verb to throw open; to open suddenly or with violence; as, to fling open a door.
  • transitive verb to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh manner; as, to fling out hard words against another.
  • transitive verb to relinquish; to abandon; as, to fling up a design.
  • noun A cast from the hand; a throw; also, a flounce; a kick.
  • noun A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe; a sarcasm.
  • noun A kind of dance.
  • noun obsolete A trifing matter; an object of contempt.
  • noun a short period during which one indulges one's wishes, whims, or desires in an unrestrained manner.
  • noun a love affair.
  • noun informal a casual or brief attempt to accomplish something.
  • noun a period during which one tries a new activity.
  • noun to enjoy one's self to the full; to have a season of dissipation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Short, often sexual relationship.
  • noun An act of unrestrained indulgence.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English flingen, of Scandinavian origin; see plāk- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old Norse flengja

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Examples

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  • A group of dunlins

    November 16, 2007