[flight] n, often attrib [ME, fr. OE flyht; akin to MD vlucht flight, OE fleogan to fly] (bef. 12c) 1 a: an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings "the ~ of a bee" b: the ability to fly "~ is natural to birds"
2. a: a passing through the air or through space outside the earth's atmosphere "~ of an arrow" "~ of a rocket to the moon" b: the distance covered in such a flight c: swift movement 3 a: a trip made by or in an airplane or spacecraft b: a scheduled airplane trip
4: a group of similar beings or objects flying through the air together
5: a brilliant, imaginative, or unrestrained exercise or display "a ~ of fancy"
6. a: a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another b: a series (as of terraces or conveyors) resembling a flight of stairs 7: a unit of the U.S. Air Force below a squadron -- flight.less adj
[2]flight vi (1873): to rise, settle, or fly in a flock "geese ~ing on the marsh" ~ vt: [1]flush [3]flight n [ME fluht, fliht; akin to OHG fluht flight, OE fleon to flee] (13c): an act or instance of running away