I. fly 1 S2 W2 /flaɪ/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense flew /fluː/, past participle flown /fləʊn $ floʊn/)
1 . TRAVEL BY PLANE [intransitive] to travel by plane:
She’s flying back to the States tomorrow.
Will you take the train there or fly?
Maurice is nervous about flying, so he usually travels overland.
fly to
The prime minister will be flying to Delhi later today for a three-day visit.
fly from/out of/in etc
He was arrested at Heathrow after flying from Brussels airport.
Lewis stopped off in Jamaica before flying on to Toronto.
2 . MOVE THROUGH THE AIR [intransitive] if a plane, spacecraft etc flies, it moves through the air:
The plane was attacked as it flew over restricted airspace.
3 . CONTROL A PLANE [intransitive and transitive] to be at the controls of a plane and direct it as it flies:
She was the first woman to fly Concorde.
The pilot was instructed to fly the plane to Montreal airport.
Sonny learnt to fly when he was 15.
4 . SEND SOMEBODY/SOMETHING BY PLANE [transitive] to take goods or people somewhere by plane:
The injured boy was flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital.
fly something into/out of etc something
US planes have been flying food and medical supplies into the area.
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:
We usually fly economy class.
Millions of passengers fly British Airways every year.
6 . CROSS SEA BY PLANE [transitive] to cross a particular ocean or area of sea in a plane:
Who was the first person to fly the Atlantic?
7 . BIRDS/INSECTS [intransitive] to move through the air using wings:
The mother bird will feed her chicks until they are able to fly.
The evening air was clouded with mosquitoes and other flying insects.
fly away/off/in etc
At that moment, a wasp flew in through the open window.
The robin shook its feathers and flew away.
8 . MOVE SOMEWHERE QUICKLY [intransitive]
a) to move somewhere quickly and suddenly
fly down/across/out of etc
Ellen flew across the room and greeted her uncle with a kiss.
Rachel’s hand flew to her mouth.
fly open/shut
The door flew open and a child rushed out.
b) to move quickly and suddenly through the air:
There was a loud explosion, and suddenly there was glass flying everywhere.
William hit Jack on the head and sent his glasses flying.
The ball bounced off the wall and went flying into the garden next door.
9 . KITE [transitive] to make a ↑ kite fly in the air:
In the park people were walking their dogs or flying their kites.
10 . (I) must fly spoken used to say that you must leave quickly
11 . MOVE FREELY [intransitive] to move freely and loosely in the air:
Harriet ran after him, her hair flying behind her.
12 . 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:
After the invasion, people were forbidden to fly their national flag.
The flags were flying cheerfully in the breeze.
The government ordered that all flags should be flown at half mast (=halfway down the pole, in order to express public sadness at someone’s death) .
13 . fly the flag to behave in a way that shows that you are proud of your country, organization etc
14 . time flies ( also the hours/the days etc fly ) used to say that a period of time seems to pass very quickly:
‘Is it midnight already?’ ‘Well, you know what they say – time flies when you’re having fun!’
time flies by
The following weeks flew by, and soon it was time to leave.
15 . fly into a rage/temper/panic etc to suddenly get extremely angry, extremely worried etc:
Rebecca flew into a rage when she realized no-one had been listening to her.
16 . fly off the handle informal to suddenly get very angry:
Calm down – there’s no need to fly off the handle.
17 . let fly (something)
a) to suddenly start shouting angrily at someone SYN let loose :
The prisoner let fly with a torrent of abuse.
b) to suddenly attack someone, especially with bullets or a weapon that is thrown
let fly (something) with
The soldiers let fly with a hail of machine-gun fire.
18 . fly in the face of something to be the opposite of what most people think is reasonable, sensible, or normal:
He likes to fly in the face of convention.
19 . ESCAPE [transitive] formal to leave somewhere in order to escape SYN flee :
By the time the police arrived, the men had flown.
20 . be flying high to be having a lot of success:
The architectural firm has been flying high recently.
21 . fly the nest
a) if a young bird flies the nest, it has grown old enough to look after itself and is no longer dependent on its parents
b) if a young person flies the nest, he or she moves out of their parents’ home in order to live independently:
Now that the kids have flown the nest, I’m thinking about taking a job abroad.
22 . PLAN [intransitive] American English a plan that will fly will be successful and useful:
News is that the plan for the new hotel isn’t going to fly.
23 . fly a kite to tell people about an idea, plan etc in order to get their opinion:
In my latest book, I wanted to fly the kite for an unfashionable theory.
⇨ ↑ kite-flying (2)
24 . go fly a kite American English spoken used to tell someone to go away, stop saying something, or stop annoying you
25 . rumours/accusations etc are flying when a lot of people are talking about something, saying someone has done something wrong etc:
Rumours were flying as to how the fire started.
26 . fly the coop American English informal to leave or escape:
All my children have flown the coop now.
27 . 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 SYN wing it :
Sometimes you’ll get back and find that things have changed, so you’ll be flying by the seat of your pants for a while.
⇨ the bird has flown at ↑ bird (8), ⇨ as the crow flies at ↑ crow 1 (3), ⇨ sparks fly at ↑ spark 1 (6)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ take to move or go with someone or something from one place to another:
Don’t forget to take your keys.
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Shall I take you home?
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I took Alice a cup of tea.
▪ bring to take someone or something to the place where you are now:
We’ve brought someone to see you!
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Will you bring your photos with you when you come?
▪ transport to take large quantities of goods from one place to another in a plane, train, ship etc:
The plane is used for transporting military equipment.
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The coal was transported by rail.
▪ deliver to take goods, letters, newspapers etc to someone’s home or office:
Unfortunately, the package was delivered to the wrong address.
▪ fly to take someone or something somewhere by plane:
The bread is specially flown in from Paris.
▪ ship to take goods from one place to another – this can be by ship, truck, plane, or train:
Half the whisky is shipped to Japan and the US.
▪ carry to take people or goods somewhere – used especially when saying how many people or things, or what kind:
The new plane can carry up to 600 passengers.
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The ship was carrying a full cargo of oil.
▪ lead to take someone to a place by going in front of them:
He led Julia through the house to his study.
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Roland led the way back to the car in silence.
▪ guide to take someone to a place and show them the way:
Emily guided him through a side gate into a large garden.
▪ escort to take someone to a place and protect or guard them:
The prisoner was escorted into the room by two police officers.
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The singer was escorted by her assistant and her bodyguard.
▪ usher to politely lead someone somewhere and show them where to go, especially because it is your job to do this:
We were ushered into the lift by a man in uniform.
fly at somebody ( also fly into somebody ) American English phrasal verb
to suddenly rush towards someone and try to hit them because you are very angry with them
II. fly 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle flied , present participle flying , third person singular flies ) [intransitive]
to hit a ball in baseball high into the air
III. fly 3 BrE AmE noun ( plural flies ) [countable]
[ Sense 1, 3-7, 9: Language: Old English ; Origin: fleoge ]
[ Sense 2, 8, 10: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: ↑ fly 1 ]
1 . INSECT a small flying insect with two wings:
There were flies buzzing all around us.
2 . TROUSERS especially American English ( also flies [plural] British English ) the part at the front of a pair of trousers which you can open:
He quickly did up his fly.
Your flies are undone.
3 . somebody wouldn’t hurt/harm a fly informal used to say that someone is very gentle and is not likely to hurt anyone
4 . be dying/dropping etc like flies informal used to say that a lot of people are dying or becoming ill
5 . a fly in the ointment informal the only thing that spoils something and prevents it from being successful:
The only fly in the ointment was Jacky.
6 . be a fly on the wall to be able to watch what happens without other people knowing that you are there:
I wish I’d been a fly on the wall during that conversation.
⇨ ↑ fly-on-the-wall
7 . there are no flies on somebody British English spoken used to say that someone is not stupid and cannot be tricked
8 . on the fly
a) technical while a computer program is actually running:
The code is translated on the fly.
b) while dealing with a situation, rather than before dealing with it:
So far, policy is being made on the fly.
9 . FISHING a hook that is made to look like a fly and is used for catching fish
10 . BASEBALL a fly ball
IV. fly 4 BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: Probably from ↑ fly 1 ]
1 . informal very fashionable and attractive:
Wear something really fly for your Friday date.
2 . British English old-fashioned clever and not easily tricked:
He’s a bit of a fly character.
V. fly ‧ sheet /ˈflaɪʃiːt/ BrE AmE ( also fly ) noun [countable]
a sheet of material that is put over a tent to protect it from the rain