fly


Definition: Meaning of, fly in English to English dictionary.

Pronunciation: / flʌɪ /

  • verb
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  • antonym
Word Forms:
Prsesent Past Past Participle
fly flew flown
Present Participle Third Person Singular
flying flies
[intransitive]
  1. travel by plane [intransitive] to travel by plane
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  2. move through the air [intransitive] if a plane, spacecraft etc flies, it moves through the air
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  3. control a plane [intransitive and transitive] to be at the controls of a plane and direct it as it flies
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  4. send somebody/something by plane [transitive] to take goods or people somewhere by plane
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  5. use air company/service [intransitive and transitive] to use a particular AIRLINE or use a particular type of ticket when you travel by plane
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  6. cross sea by plane [transitive] to cross a particular ocean or area of sea in a plane
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  7. birds/insects [intransitive] to move through the air using wings
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  8. move somewhere quickly [intransitive] to move somewhere quickly and suddenly
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  9. move somewhere quickly [intransitive] to move quickly and suddenly through the air
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  10. kite [transitive] to make a KITE fly in the air
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  11. (I) must fly spoken used to say that you must leave quickly
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  12. move freely [intransitive] to move freely and loosely in the air
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  13. flag [intransitive and transitive] if a flag flies, or if you fly it, it is fixed to the top of a tall pole so that it can be easily seen
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  14. fly the flag to behave in a way that shows that you are proud of your country, organization etc
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  15. time flies also the hours/the days etc fly used to say that a period of time seems to pass very quickly
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  16. fly into a rage/temper/panic etc to suddenly get extremely angry, extremely worried etc
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  17. fly off the handle informal to suddenly get very angry
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  18. let fly (something) to suddenly start shouting angrily at someone [=  let loose]
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  19. let fly (something) to suddenly attack someone, especially with bullets or a weapon that is thrown
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  20. fly in the face of something to be the opposite of what most people think is reasonable, sensible, or normal
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  21. escape [transitive] formal to leave somewhere in order to escape [=  flee]
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  22. be flying high to be having a lot of success
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  23. fly the nest if a young bird flies the nest, it has grown old enough to look after itself and is no longer dependent on its parents
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  24. fly the nest if a young person flies the nest, he or she moves out of their parents' home in order to live independently
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  25. plan [intransitive] American English a plan that will fly will be successful and useful
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  26. fly a kite to tell people about an idea, plan etc in order to get their opinion
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  27. go fly a kite American English spoken used to tell someone to go away, stop saying something, or stop annoying you
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  28. rumours/accusations etc are flying when a lot of people are talking about something, saying someone has done something wrong etc
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  29. fly the coop American English informal to leave or escape
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  30. fly by the seat of your pants informal to have to deal with a situation by guessing what to do, because you know very little about it [=  wing it]
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  31. to hit a ball in baseball high into the air
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  • noun
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Word Forms:
Singular Plural
fly flies
[countable]
  1. insect a small flying insect with two wings
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  2. trousers especially American English also flies [plural] British English the part at the front of a pair of trousers which you can open
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  3. somebody wouldn't hurt/harm a fly informal used to say that someone is very gentle and is not likely to hurt anyone
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  4. be dying/dropping etc like flies informal used to say that a lot of people are dying or becoming ill
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  5. a fly in the ointment informal the only thing that spoils something and prevents it from being successful
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  6. be a fly on the wall to be able to watch what happens without other people knowing that you are there
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  7. there are no flies on somebody British English spoken used to say that someone is not stupid and cannot be tricked
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  8. on the fly technical while a computer program is actually running
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  9. on the fly while dealing with a situation, rather than before dealing with it
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  10. fishing a hook that is made to look like a fly and is used for catching fish
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  11. baseball a fly ball
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  • adjective
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Word Forms:
Positive Comparative Superlative
fly flyer flyest
  1. informal very fashionable and attractive
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  2. British English old-fashioned clever and not easily tricked
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fly used in phrases

  • American fly honeysuckle (noun)
    1. erect deciduous North American shrub with yellow-white flowers
  • European fly honeysuckle (noun)
    1. cultivated Eurasian shrub with twin yellowish-white flowers and scarlet fruit
  • Hessian fly (noun)
    1. small fly whose larvae damage wheat and other grains
  • Mediterranean fruit fly (noun)
    1. small black-and-white fly that damages citrus and other fruits by implanting eggs that hatch inside the fruit
  • Spanish fly (noun)
    1. green beetle of southern Europe
  • antlion fly (noun)
    1. doodlebugs winged insect resembling a dragonfly; the larvae dig conical pits where they wait to catch e.g. ants
  • bar fly (noun)
    1. a drinker who frequents bars
  • bee fly (noun)
    1. hairy nectar-eating fly that resembles a bee; larvae are parasitic on larvae of bees and related insects
  • blow-fly (noun)
    1. a fly that lays its eggs on meat or wounds
  • caddice fly (noun)
    1. small moth-like insect having two pairs of hairy membranous wings and aquatic larvae
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fly used in phrasal verbs

  • fly at (phrasal verb)
    1. fly at someone to attack someone violently
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