# flaunt

Pronunciation: US say "FLAHNT" /flɑnt/; say "FLAWNT" UK /flɔːnt/, AUS /flɔnt/

## Verb

1. To display something in a showy way, so as to draw attention to it.
   - Simple: To show something off so that everyone will notice it.
   - _The new owners flaunt their money with a row of sports cars parked on the lawn._
   - _During the parade, the army flaunted its latest missiles before the foreign press._
2. To flout something such as a rule or custom, openly ignoring or defying it.
   - Simple: To openly break or ignore a rule as if it does not matter.
   - _Critics say the company is flaunting the rules by running ads the regulator already banned._
   - _Drivers who flaunt the speed limit near the school will be ticketed, the police chief warned._

## Verb

3. To make a showy display of oneself, for example in flashy clothes. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To show yourself off, for example by wearing bright, fancy clothes.
   - _Every Sunday the mayor's sons flaunt about the town square in their new coats._
   - _At the summer ball, the young guests flaunted in silk and feathers until dawn._
4. To wave or flutter in the wind with a brisk, smart movement. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To wave or move quickly in the wind, like a flag.
   - _Flags of every color flaunt above the harbor on race day._
   - _A torn poster flaunted from the fence in the gusty wind._

## Noun

5. Anything displayed for show, such as fine clothes worn to impress. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Something you show off, like fancy clothes.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–5** — Of North Germanic origin, perhaps related to Norwegian flanta ("to show off, wander about"), Icelandic flana ("to rush about, act rashly") and French flâner ("to wander around, loiter"). Alternatively it may be related to Swedish flankt ("loosely, flutteringly"), from flanka ("to waver, hang and wave about"), a variant of flakka ("to waver"), which is related to Middle English flacken ("to move to and fro, flutter").
**Meaning 2** — This use arose through confusion with flout.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/flaunt (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).