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fly1

Syllabification: (fly)
Pronunciation: /flī/
Translate fly | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of fly

verb (flies /flīz/, flying; past flew /flo͞o/; past participle flown /flōn/)

[no object]
  • 1(of a bird or other winged creature) move through the air under control:close the door or the moths will fly in the bird can fly enormous distances
  • (of an aircraft or its occupants) travel through the air:I fly back to New York this evening
  • [with object] control the flight of (an aircraft); pilot.
  • [with object] transport in an aircraft:helicopters flew the injured to a hospital
  • [with object] accomplish (a purpose) in an aircraft:pilots trained to fly combat missions
  • [with object] release (a bird) to fly, especially a hawk for hunting or a pigeon for racing.
  • 2move or be hurled quickly through the air:balls kept flying over her hedge he was sent flying by the tackle
  • [with adverbial of direction] (past flied) Baseball hit a ball high into the air:Gwynn flied to left
  • (past flied) (fly out) Baseball (of a batter) be put out by hitting a fly ball that is caught.
  • [with adverbial of direction] go or move quickly:she flew along the path
  • informal depart hastily:I must fly!
  • (of time) pass swiftly:how time flies!
  • (of a report) be circulated among many people:rumors were flying around Chicago
  • (of accusations or insults) be exchanged swiftly and heatedly:the accusations flew thick and fast
  • 3 [with adverbial] (especially of hair) wave or flutter in the wind:they were running, hair flying everywhere
  • (with reference to a flag) display or be displayed, especially on a flagpole:flags were flying at half-mast
  • 4 archaic flee; run away:those that fly may fight again
  • [with object] flee from; escape from in haste:you must fly the country for a while
  • 5North American informal be successful:that idea didn’t fly with most other council members

noun (plural flies)

  • 1 (British often flies) an opening at the crotch of a pair of pants, closed with a zipper or buttons and typically covered with a flap.
  • a flap of material covering the opening or fastening of a garment or of a tent: [as modifierin combination]:a fly-fronted shirt
  • 2 (the flies) the space over the stage in a theater.
  • 4 (plural usually flys) British & historical a one-horse hackney carriage.

Phrases

fly the coop

informal make one’s escape.

fly the flag

see flag1.

fly high

be very successful; prosper:that young man is the sort to fly high

fly in the face of

be openly at variance with (what is usual or expected):a need to fly in the face of convention

fly into a rage (or temper)

become suddenly or violently angry.

fly the nest

(of a young bird) leave its nest on becoming able to fly.
informal (of a young person) leave their parents' home to set up home elsewhere.

fly off the handle

informal lose one’s temper suddenly and unexpectedly.
[figuratively, with reference to the loose head of an ax]

go fly a kite

[in imperative] North American informal go away.

on the fly

while in motion or progress:his deep shot was caught on the fly
Computing during the running of a computer program without interrupting the run.

Phrasal Verbs

fly at

attack (someone) verbally or physically:Robbie flew at him, fists clenched
(of a hawk) pursue and attack, or habitually pursue (prey).
(fly a hawk at) send a hawk to pursue and attack (prey).

Derivatives

flyable

adjective

Origin:

Old English flēogan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vliegen and German fliegen, also to fly2

The different forms of the verb are: (flies, flying; the past tense is flew and the past participle is flown).

fly in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fly in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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