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fly1

Pronunciation: /flʌɪ/

Translate fly | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of fly

verb (flies, flying; past flew /fluː/; past participle flown /fləʊn/)

[no object]
  • 1(of a bird, bat, or insect) move through the air using wings: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 London this evening
  • [with object] control the flight of (an aircraft):he flew Hurricanes in the war
  • [with object and adverbial of direction] transport in an aircraft:helicopters flew the injured to 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.
  • 2 [usually with adverbial of direction] move or be hurled quickly through the air:balls kept flying over her hedge he was sent flying by the tackle
  • (past flied) Baseball hit a ball high into the air:he flied out to the left field
  • 3 [with adverbial] wave or flutter in the wind:she ran after him, her hair flying behind her
  • (with reference to a flag) display or be displayed on a flagpole: [with object]:vessels which flew the Spanish flag [no object]:flags were flying at half mast
  • 4 [usually with adverbial of direction] go or move quickly:she flew along the path his fingertips flew across the keyboard
  • informal depart hastily:I must fly!
  • (of time) pass swiftly:the evening had just flown by
  • (of accusations or insults) be exchanged swiftly and heatedly:the accusations flew thick and fast
  • (of a report) be circulated swiftly and widely:rumours were flying around Manchester
  • archaic run away: those that fly may fight again
  • [with object] archaic 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 trousers, closed with a zip or buttons and typically covered with a flap.
  • a flap of material covering the opening or fastening of a garment or of a tent.
  • 2 (the flies) the space over the stage in a theatre.
  • 4 (plural usually flys) British historical a one-horse hackney carriage.
  • 5Australian/NZ informal an attempt:we decided to give it a fly

Phrases

fly the coop

informal make one’s escape.

fly the flag

see flag1.

fly high

be very successful; prosper.

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 a kite

informal try something out to test public opinion.

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 axe]

go fly a kite

[in imperative] North American informal go away.

on the fly

while in motion or progress:producers were able to schedule the day’s Olympic coverage on the fly
Computing during the running of a computer program without interrupting the run.

Phrasal Verbs

fly at

  • 1attack verbally or physically:Robbie flew at him, fists clenched
  • 2(of a hawk) pursue and attack, or habitually pursue (prey).

Derivatives

flyable

adjective

Origin:

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

Spelling help

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 US English dictionary

Nearby words

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