I. ˈflēt, usu -ēd.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English fleten, from Old English flēotan; akin to Old High German fliozzan to flow, float, Old Norse fljōta to flow, float, Lithuanian plausti to wash, Old English flōwan to flow
intransitive verb
1. now dialect Britain : float
2.
a. obsolete : float , drift
clouds and mist fleeting
b. : to move waveringly : fluctuate
3.
a. archaic : to glide along or away : flow
b. : to fade away : dissolve , vanish
4. obsolete : to become filled : abound
5. : to fly swiftly : pass over quickly : hasten , flit
clouds fleeting across the sky
transitive verb
1. : to cause (time) to pass : while away
many young gentlemen … fleet the time carelessly — Shakespeare
2. obsolete : to pass over rapidly : skim the surface of
3.
[alteration of flit (I) ]
a. : to move or change in position — used only in certain nautical phrases
fleet aft the crew
b. : to draw apart the blocks of (a tackle) in order to shift the moving block
c. : to cause (as a cable or hawser) to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English flet, flete, from Old English flēot estuary, river; akin to Middle High German vliez, vlieze river, brook, Old Norse fljōt river; derivative from the root of Old English flēotan to float
1. now dialect England : a shallow inlet or estuary : a small creek
2. now dialect England : sewer , drain
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English flet, flete, from Old English flēot ship, from flēotan to float
1. : a number of warships under a single command : a naval force:
a. : an organization of ships and airplanes under a flag officer and suitable for undertaking major naval operations
b. : the whole naval forces afloat of a particular country
2. : a group of boats in company or engaged in the same business
the whaling fleet
the fleet of small craft now in the harbor
3. now chiefly dialect : a group (as of birds) moving or acting together
a fleet of crows pulling at the corn
4.
a. Britain : a line of fishing nets joined together
b. : a fishing line having a hundred hooks
5. : a group (as of airplanes or trucks) comparable to a fleet of ships
a fleet of clouds overhead
especially : such a group operated under unified control (as by a commercial or military organization)
three separate taxi fleets operating in one area
a fleet of 500 haulage units
6. : a group of affiliated insurance companies especially when handling fire insurance
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English fleten, from Old English flēotan to skim, from flēotan to float
dialect England : to take the cream from (milk) : skim
V. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: probably from fleet (I)
1. : swift in motion : moving or able to move with velocity
the antelope is very fleet
often : light and quick in going from place to place : nimble , agile
the fleet scurryings of squirrels
in mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong — John Milton
2. : lacking permanence or substance : evanescent , fleeting
Synonyms: see fast
VI. adverb (or adjective)
Etymology: probably from fleet (II)
1. now chiefly dialect : light , shallow
a fleet soil
cream rising in fleet dishes
2. now chiefly dialect : near the surface : superficially
potatoes with fleet eyes
some soils should be plowed fleet
VII. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from fleet (I)
1. : a long straight fake of a stowed rope
2. : the act of fleeting : a change in position