Fly Definition

flī
flew, flied, flier, flies, fliest, flying
verb
flew, flies, flying
To engage in flight, especially:
American Heritage
To move through the air.
Webster's New World
To appear to pass swiftly.
Time flies.
Webster's New World
To be dissipated; vanish.
All his money has flown.
American Heritage
To use (a hawk) to hunt game.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
noun
flies
The act of flying; flight.
Webster's New World
A regulating device, as for a clockwork mechanism, consisting of vanes radiating from a rotating shaft.
Webster's New World
A hackney carriage.
Webster's New World
A flyleaf.
American Heritage
A ball batted high in the air, esp. within the foul lines.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
adjective
fliest
Alert and knowing; sharp; quick.
Webster's New World
Fashionable, stylish, attractive, etc.
Webster's New World

(slang) Well dressed, smart in appearance.

He's pretty fly for a white guy.
Wiktionary
(slang) Beautiful; displaying physical beauty.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
idiom
fly high
  • To be elated:

    They were flying high after their first child was born.

American Heritage
fly off the handle
  • To become suddenly enraged:

    flew off the handle when the train was finally canceled.

American Heritage
let fly
  • To shoot, hurl, or release:

    The troops let fly a volley of gunfire.

  • To lash out; assault:

    The mayor let fly with an angry attack on her critics.

American Heritage
on the fly
  • In a hurry or between pressing activities:

    took lunch on the fly.

  • While moving:

    The outfielder caught the ball on the fly.

American Heritage
fly in the ointment
  • A detrimental circumstance or detail; a drawback.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Fly

Noun

Singular:
fly
Plural:
flies1, flys

Adjective

Base Form:
fly
Superlative:
fliest

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Fly

Origin of Fly

  • From Middle English flien, from Old English flēogan, from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (compare Saterland Frisian fljooge, Dutch vliegen, Low German flegen, German fliegen, Danish flyve), from Proto-Indo-European *pleuk-, *pleu-k- (cf. Lithuanian plaũkti ‘to swim’), enlargement of *pleu- ‘flow’. More at flow.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old English flȳġe, flēoge. Cognate with Scots flee, Dutch vlieg, German Fliege, Swedish fluga.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English flien from Old English flēogan pleu- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English flie from Old English flēoge pleu- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Origin uncertain; probably from the verb or noun.

    From Wiktionary

  • Probably from fly

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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