flurry

[flur-ee, fluhr-ee]

noun

plural

flurries 

1. a light, brief shower of snow.

2. sudden commotion, excitement, or confusion; nervous hurry.

   There was a flurry of activity before the guests arrived.

   Synonyms: ado, fluster, fuss, to-do, stir, pother, upset

3. Stock Exchange.

   1. a brief rise or fall in prices.

   2. a brief, unusually heavy period of trading.

4. a sudden gust of wind.

verb (used with object)

flurried, flurrying 

1. to put (a person) into a flurry; confuse; fluster.

verb (used without object)

flurried, flurrying 

1. (of snow) to fall or be blown in a flurry.

2. to move in an excited or agitated manner.

flurry

/ ˈflʌrɪ /

noun

1. a sudden commotion or burst of activity

2. a light gust of wind or rain or fall of snow

3. stock exchange a sudden brief increase in trading or fluctuation in stock prices

4. the death spasms of a harpooned whale

verb

1. to confuse or bewilder or be confused or bewildered

Other Word Forms

• flurriedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of flurry¹

1680–90, blend of flutter and hurry

Word History and Origins

Origin of flurry¹

C17: from obsolete flurr to scatter, perhaps formed on analogy with _hurry

Example Sentences

Guy’s conflicts with the group and his own unhappy history make up much of the story, and the flurry of plot points occasionally feels like bats flying around your face.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

One day, in mid-September, when Minus logged on, she received an unexpected flurry of messages from both close friends and people she hadn’t spoken to in years.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Wall Street’s push to launch ever-riskier leveraged exchange-traded funds is picking up steam, as issuers test the boundaries of what is legally permissible in the U.S. with a recent flurry of filings.

Read more on MarketWatch

Now an increasingly prominent actor alongside Russia and China, Pyongyang’s focus is on solidifying its nuclear status, shifting away from seeking global attention with a flurry of missile launches.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A flurry of tariff announcements, mixed economic forecasts and political backlash against Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk contributed to slumping EV sales in the first half of the year, according to experts.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• furor 
• outbreak 
• spurt 
• squall 
• turmoil 
• whirl 
• whirlwind