noun, plural flur·ries.
- a light, brief shower of snow.
- sudden commotion, excitement, or confusion; nervous hurry: There was a flurry of activity before the guests arrived.
- Stock Exchange.
- a brief rise or fall in prices.
- a brief, unusually heavy period of trading.
- a sudden gust of wind.
verb (used with object), flur·ried, flur·ry·ing.
- to put (a person) into a flurry; confuse; fluster.
verb (used without object), flur·ried, flur·ry·ing.
- (of snow) to fall or be blown in a flurry.
- to move in an excited or agitated manner.
noun plural -ries
- a sudden commotion or burst of activity
- a light gust of wind or rain or fall of snow
- stock exchange a sudden brief increase in trading or fluctuation in stock prices
- the death spasms of a harpooned whale
verb -ries, -rying or -ried
- to confuse or bewilder or be confused or bewildered
1757 in the commotion sense, from flurry (n.); 1883 in the snow sense. Related: Flurried; flurries; flurrying.
“snow squall” 1828, American English, with earlier senses of “commotion,” etc., dating to 1680s; perhaps imitative, or else from 17c. flurr “to scatter, fly with a whirring noise,” perhaps from Middle English flouren “to sprinkle, as with flour” (late 14c.).