fleet Hear it!

fleet¹ Definition

fleet (flēt)

noun

    1. a number of warships under one command, usually in a definite area of operation
    2. the entire naval force of a country; navy
  2. any group of ships, trucks, buses, airplanes, etc. acting together or under one control

Etymology: ME flete < OE fleot < fleotan, to float: see fleet

fleet² Definition

fleet (flēt)

intransitive verb

  1. Obsolete to float; swim
  2. to move swiftly; flit; fly
  3. Archaic to pass away swiftly; disappear

Etymology: ME fleten < OE fleotan, akin to Ger fliessen < IE *pleud- < base *pleu-, flow

transitive verb

  1. Rare to pass away (time)
  2. Naut. to change the position of (a rope, pulley block, etc.)

adjective

  1. swift; rapid
  2. Old Poet. evanescent

fleet² Related Forms
fleet′ly adverb fleet′·ness noun
fleet³ Definition

fleet (flēt)

noun

a small inlet; creek

Etymology: ME flete < OE fleot, akin to Du vliet: base as in fleet

fleet³ Idioms

the Fleet

  1. a former small creek in London, now a covered sewer
  2. a debtor's prison which stood near this creek
fleet Synonyms

fleet

modif.

swift, rapid, speedy; see fast 1. See syn. study at fast.

fleet Synonyms

fleet

n.

armada, flotilla, naval force, argosy, invasion force, task force, squadron, formation, line; see also navy.

fleet Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • warship: Let me explain: In 1433 the Chinese admiral Cheng Ho sailed an imperial fleet of warships right round the Indian Ocean.
  • tanker: Stelmar has a fleet of 11 tankers, with a further 4 under construction.
  • ship: I, with a massed fleet of ships following me, sailed on, knowing the god intended trouble.
  • trawler: Klondyke now owns and operates a fleet of 3 pelagic trawlers.
  • van: Sangers deliver to every pharmacy in Northern Ireland at least twice a day utilizing a fleet of 28 transit vans.

Converse of object

  • operate: Coaches We operate a large fleet of modern high quality coaches.
  • rejoin: The will rejoin the fleet in Dives su Mer the following day.

Adjective modifier

  • Spanish: The squadron was mainly employed watching the Spanish fleet at Toulon.
  • 3.5m: Somewhere in the middle the racers were not so sure what to do, so consequently that race was scrapped for the 3.5m fleet.
  • combined: Together the Star Alliance members serve 894 airports in 129 countries with a combined fleet of more than 2,000 aircraft.
  • entire: The city's entire fleet of refuse collection trucks will be powered by alternative fuels by the year 2010.
  • French: A drawing recording the attack by the French fleet on Brighton is preserved in the Hove Museum.
  • 5.5m: Barring one discard so did Stuart Hards of the same club in the 5.5m fleet.

Modifies a noun

  • livery: This is one of the first vehicles to carry a new restyled version of the fleet livery.

Noun used with modifier

  • fishing: Our once proud fishing fleet has been in steady decline over the years.
  • regatta: A regatta fleet of 18 included many who were sailing in an open event for the first time.
  • whaling: Today, Dundee captains and the city's whaling fleet have a permanent place in the geography of the world.
  • submarine: The committee had been considering the safety of the UK's nuclear submarine fleet.
  • invasion: He was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the crossing and provided 100 ships for the invasion fleet.
  • merchant: The registered tonnage of Britain's ships was greater than the rest of the world's merchant fleets combined.
fleet Quotes

The Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of theThames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pupils might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctityand truth of the revelation of Mahomet.

—Gibbon, Edward

Beauteous the fleet before the gale; Beauteous the multitudes in mail, Rank'd arms and crested heads: Beauteous the garden's umbrage mild, Walk, water, meditated wild, And all the bloomy beds.

—Smart, Christopher

This ae nighte, this ae nighte, öEvery nighte and alle, Fire and fleet and candle-lighte, And Christe receive thy saule.

—Ballads

West of these out to seas colder than the Hebrides I must go Where the fleet of stars is anchored and the young Star captains glow.

—Flecker,James Elroy

The past is the only dead thing that smells sweet, The only sweet thing that is not also fleet.

—Thomas, (Philip) Edward

TheThird Fleet's sunken and damaged ships have been salvaged and are retiring at high speed toward the enemy.

—Halsey,W(illiam) F(rederick) known as  'Bull' Halsey

The Knight in the triumph of his heart made several 6 reflections on thegreatness of the British Nation; as, that one Englishman could beat three Frenchmen; that we could never be in danger of Popery so long as we took care of our fleet; that theThames was thenoblest river in Europe; that London Bridge was a greater piece of work than any of the Seven Wonders of the World; with many other honest prejudices which naturally cleave to the heart of a true Englishman.

—Addison,Joseph

The man must have a rare recipe for melancholy, who can be dull in Fleet Street.

—Lamb, Charles

The whole fleet's lit up.When I say 'lit up',I mean by fairy lamps.

—Woodroofe,Thomas

Browse dictionary entries near fleet

  1. ‹ fleer
  2. ‹ fleecy
  3. ‹ fleece
  4. ‹ flee
  5. ‹ fledgling
  6. ‹ fledge
  7. ‹ fled
  8. ‹ flection
  9. ‹ flecked
  10. ‹ fleck
  1. fleet admiral ›
  2. Fleet Street ›
  3. fleeting ›
  4. fleetness ›
  5. Fleming ›
  6. Flemish ›
  7. flense ›
  8. flesh ›
  9. flesh and blood ›
  10. flesh-colored ›