fly 1
— flyable , adj. — flyability , n.
/fluy/ , v. , flew or, for 11, 19, flied, flown, flying , n. , pl. flies .
v.i.
1. to move through the air using wings.
2. to be carried through the air by the wind or any other force or agency: bits of paper flying about.
3. to float or flutter in the air: flags flying in the breeze.
4. to travel in an aircraft or spacecraft.
5. to move suddenly and quickly; start unexpectedly: He flew from the room.
6. to change rapidly and unexpectedly from one state or position to another: The door flew open.
7. to flee; escape.
8. to travel in space: The probe will fly past the planet.
9. to move or pass swiftly: How time flies!
10. to move with an aggressive surge: A mother fox will fly at anyone approaching her kits.
11. Baseball.
a. to bat a fly ball: He flied into right field.
b. to fly out.
12. Informal. to be acceptable, believable, or feasible: It seemed like a good idea, but it just wouldn't fly.
v.t.
13. to make (something) float or move through the air: to fly a kite.
14. to operate (an aircraft, spacecraft, or the like).
15. to hoist aloft, as for display, signaling, etc.: to fly a flag.
16. to operate an aircraft or spacecraft over: to fly the Pacific.
17. to transport or convey by air: We fly merchandise to Boston.
18. to escape from; flee: to fly someone's wrath.
19. Theat.
a. to hang (scenery) above a stage by means of rigging supported by the gridiron.
b. to raise (scenery) from the stage or acting area into the flies.
20. fly blind . See blind (def. 33).
21. fly in the face of , to act in defiance of (authority, custom, etc.). Also, fly in the teeth of .
22. fly off the handle . See handle (def. 8).
23. fly out , Baseball, Softball. to be put out by hitting a fly ball that is caught by a player of the opposing team.
24. go fly a kite , Slang.
a. to put up with or get used to matters as they stand.
b. to confine oneself to one's own affairs.
c. to cease being a nuisance: If she gets mad enough she'll tell me to go fly a kite.
25. let fly ,
a. to hurl or propel (a weapon, missile, etc.).
b. to give free rein to an emotion: She let fly with a barrage of angry words.
n.
26. a strip of material sewn along one edge of a garment opening for concealing buttons, zippers, or other fasteners.
27. a flap forming the door of a tent.
28. Also called tent fly . a piece of canvas extending over the ridgepole of a tent and forming an outer roof.
29. an act of flying; a flight.
30. the course of a flying object, as a ball.
31. Baseball. See fly ball .
32. Brit. a light, covered, public carriage drawn by one horse; hansom; hackney coach.
33. Mach. a horizontal arm, weighted at each end, that pivots about the screw of a press so that when the screw is lowered the momentum of the fly will increase the force of the press.
34. Also called fan . Horol. a regulating device for chime and striking mechanisms, consisting of an arrangement of vanes on a revolving axis.
35. Print.
a. (in some presses) the apparatus for removing the printed sheets to the delivery table.
b. Also called flyboy . (formerly) a printer's devil employed to remove printed sheets from a press.
36. (on a flag)
a. the horizontal dimension of a flag as flown from a vertical staff.
b. the end of the flag farther from the staff. Cf. hoist (def. 8).
37. flies . Also called fly loft . Theat. the space above the stage used chiefly for storing scenery and equipment.
38. Naut. a propellerlike device streamed to rotate and transfer information on speed to a mechanical log.
39. on the fly ,
a. during flight; before falling to the ground: to catch a baseball on the fly.
b. hurriedly; without pausing: We had dinner on the fly.
[ bef. 900; ME flien, OE fleogan; c. OHG fliogan, G fliegen, ON fljuga ]
Syn. 1. FLY, FLIT, FLUTTER, HOVER, SOAR refer to moving through the air as on wings. FLY is the general term: Birds fly. Airplanes fly. To FLIT is to make short rapid flights from place to place: A bird flits from tree to tree. To FLUTTER is to agitate the wings tremulously, either without flying or in flying only short distances: A young bird flutters out of a nest and in again.
To HOVER is to linger in the air, or to move over or about something within a narrow area or space: hovering clouds; a hummingbird hovering over a blossom. To SOAR is to (start to) fly upward to a great height usually with little advance in any other direction, or else to (continue to) fly at a lofty height without visible movement of the wings: Above our heads an eagle was soaring.
fly 2
— flyless , adj.
/fluy/ , n. , pl. flies .
1. Also called true fly . any of numerous two-winged insects of the order Diptera, esp. of the family Muscidae, as the common housefly.
2. any of various winged insects, as the mayfly or firefly.
3. Angling. a fishhook dressed with hair, feathers, silk, tinsel, etc., so as to resemble an insect or small fish, for use as a lure or bait.
4. ( cap. ) Astron. the constellation Musca.
5. fly in the ointment , a detrimental factor; detraction: If there's one fly in the ointment, it's that there may not be the money to finish the job.
[ bef. 950; ME flie, OE fleoge, flyge; c. MD vliege (D vlieg ), OHG flioga (G Fliege ); akin to FLY 1 ]
fly 3
/fluy/ , adj. Brit. Informal.
1. clever; keen; ingenious.
2. agile; nimble.
[ 1805-15; perh. special use of FLY 1 ]