Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fly 1       (flī)  Pronunciation Key  v.   flew (flōō), flown (flōn), fly·ing, flies (flīz) v.   intr. To engage in flight, especially: To move through the air by means of wings or winglike parts. To travel by air: We flew to Dallas. To operate an aircraft or spacecraft. To rise in or be carried through the air by the wind: a kite flying above the playground. To float or flap in the air: pennants flying from the masthead. To move with great speed; rush or dart: The children flew down the hall. Rumors were flying during their absence. To flee; escape. To hasten; spring: flew to her students' defense. To rise in or be carried through the air by the wind: a kite flying above the playground. To float or flap in the air: pennants flying from the masthead. To move with great speed; rush or dart: The children flew down the hall. Rumors were flying during their absence. To flee; escape. To hasten; spring: flew to her students' defense. To move or be sent through the air with great speed: bullets flying in every direction; a plate that flew from my hands when I stumbled. To move with great speed; rush or dart: The children flew down the hall. Rumors were flying during their absence. To flee; escape. To hasten; spring: flew to her students' defense. To pass by swiftly: a vacation flying by; youth that is soon flown. To be dissipated; vanish: Their small inheritance was quickly flown. past tense and past participle flied (flīd) Baseball To hit a fly ball. To undergo an explosive reaction; burst: The dropped plate flew into pieces. The motorist flew into a rage. Informal To gain acceptance or approval; go over: "However sophisticated the reasoning, this particular notion may not fly" (New York Times). v.   tr. To cause to fly or float in the air: fly a kite; fly a flag. Nautical To operate under (a particular flag): a tanker that flies the Liberian flag. To pilot (an aircraft or a spacecraft). To carry or transport in an aircraft or a spacecraft: fly emergency supplies to a stricken area. To pass over or through in flight: flew the coastal route in record time. To perform in a spacecraft or an aircraft: flew six missions into space. To flee or run from: fly a place in panic. To avoid; shun: fly temptation. To pilot (an aircraft or a spacecraft). To carry or transport in an aircraft or a spacecraft: fly emergency supplies to a stricken area. To pass over or through in flight: flew the coastal route in record time. To perform in a spacecraft or an aircraft: flew six missions into space. To flee or run from: fly a place in panic. To avoid; shun: fly temptation. To flee or run from: fly a place in panic. To avoid; shun: fly temptation. n.   pl. flies The act of flying; flight. A fold of cloth that covers a fastening of a garment, especially one on the front of trousers. The fastening or opening covered by such a fold. The span of a flag from the staff to the outer edge. The outer edge of a flag. A flap that covers an entrance or forms a rooflike extension for a tent or the canopy of a vehicle. A flyleaf. Baseball A fly ball. The span of a flag from the staff to the outer edge. The outer edge of a flag. A flywheel. flies The area directly over the stage of a theater, containing overhead lights, drop curtains, and equipment for raising and lowering sets. Chiefly British A one-horse carriage, especially one for hire. Phrasal Verb(s): fly at To attack fiercely; assault: The dogs flew at each other's throats. Idiom(s): fly high To be elated: They were flying high after their first child was born. Idiom(s): fly off the handle Informal To become suddenly enraged: flew off the handle when the train was finally canceled. Idiom(s): let fly To shoot, hurl, or release: The troops let fly a volley of gunfire. To lash out; assault: The mayor let fly with an angry attack on her critics. Idiom(s): on the fly On the run; in a hurry: took lunch on the fly. While in the air; in flight: caught the ball on the fly. [Middle English flien, from Old English flēogan; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.] fly'a·ble adj.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fly 2       (flī)  Pronunciation Key  n.   pl. flies Any of numerous two-winged insects of the order Diptera, especially any of the family Muscidae, which includes the housefly. Any of various other flying insects, such as the caddis fly. A fishing lure simulating a fly, made by attaching materials such as feathers, tinsel, and colored thread to a fishhook. [Middle English flie, from Old English flēoge; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fly 3       (flī)  Pronunciation Key  adj.   Chiefly British Mentally alert; sharp. Slang Fashionable; stylish. [Probably from fly1.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
fly  (n.)

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
fly  (v.1)

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
fly  (v.2)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

fly
adjective
1.	(British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked
noun
1.	two-winged insects characterized by active flight
2.	flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent [syn: tent-fly]
3.	an opening in a garment that is closed by a zipper or by buttons concealed under a fold of cloth
4.	(baseball) a hit that flies up in the air
5.	fisherman's lure consisting of a fishhook decorated to look like an insect
verb
1.	travel through the air; be airborne; "Man cannot fly"
2.	move quickly or suddenly; "He flew about the place"
3.	operate an airplane; "The pilot flew to Cuba"
4.	transport by aeroplane; "We fly flowers from the Caribbean to North America"
5.	cause to fly or float; "fly a kite"
6.	be dispersed or disseminated; "Rumors and accusations are flying"
7.	change quickly from one emotional state to another; "fly into a rage"
8.	pass away rapidly; "Time flies like an arrow"; "Time fleeing beneath him"
9.	travel in an airplane; "she is flying to Cincinnati tonight"; "Are we driving or flying?"
10.	display in the air or cause to float; "fly a kite"; "All nations fly their flags in front of the U.N."
11.	run away quickly; "He threw down his gun and fled" [syn: flee]
12.	travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft; "Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic"
13.	hit a fly
14.	decrease rapidly and disappear; "the money vanished in las Vegas"; "all my stock assets have vaporized" [syn: vanish]

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fly       (flī)  Pronunciation Key  Any of numerous insects of the order Diptera, having one pair of wings and large compound eyes. Flies include the houseflies, horseflies, and mosquitoes. See more at dipteran.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fly (flī)
n.
Any of numerous two-winged insects of the order Diptera.

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly Creek, NY Zip code(s): 13337

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Fly\ (fl[imac]), v. i. [imp. Flew (fl[=u]); p. p. Flown (fl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. Flying.] [OE. fleen, fleen, fleyen, flegen, AS. fle['o]gan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG. fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. flj[=u]ga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve, Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh. to L. pluma feather, E. plume. [root]84. Cf. Fledge, Flight, Flock of animals.]

1. To move in or pass thorugh the air with wings, as a bird.

2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.

3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.

Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. --Job v. 7.

4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; rumor flies.

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. --Milton.

The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on. --Bryant.

5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee.

Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. --Milton.

Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? --Shak.

6. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart.

To fly about (Naut.), to change frequently in a short time; -- said of the wind.

To fly around, to move about in haste. [Colloq.]

To fly at, to spring toward; to rush on; to attack suddenly.

To fly in the face of, to insult; to assail; to set at defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct opposition to; to resist.

To fly off, to separate, or become detached suddenly; to revolt.

To fly on, to attack.

To fly open, to open suddenly, or with violence.

To fly out. (a) To rush out. (b) To burst into a passion; to break out into license.

To let fly. (a) To throw or drive with violence; to discharge. "A man lets fly his arrow without taking any aim." --Addison. (b) (Naut.) To let go suddenly and entirely; as, to let fly the sheets.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Fly\, v. t. 1. To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc.

The brave black flag I fly. --W. S. Gilbert.

2. To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.

Sleep flies the wretch. --Dryden.

To fly the favors of so good a king. --Shak.

3. To hunt with a hawk. [Obs.] --Bacon.

To fly a kite (Com.), to raise money on commercial notes. [Cant or Slang]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Fly\, n.; pl. Flies (fl[imac]z). [OE. flie, flege, AS. fl[=y]ge, fle['o]ge, fr. fle['o]gan to fly; akin to D. vlieg, OHG. flioga, G. fliege, Icel. & Sw. fluga, Dan. flue. [root] 84. See Fly, v. i.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings; as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly. (b) Any dipterous insect; as, the house fly; flesh fly; black fly. See Diptera, and Illust. in Append.

2. A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing. "The fur-wrought fly." --Gay.

3. A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant. [Obs.]

A trifling fly, none of your great familiars. --B. Jonson.

4. A parasite. [Obs.] --Massinger.

5. A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse. [Eng.]

6. The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the "union" to the extreme end.

7. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.

8. (Naut.) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card. --Totten.

9. (Mech.) (a) Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock. (b) A heavy wheel, or cross arms with weights at the ends on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome, is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining press. See Fly wheel (below).

10. (Knitting Machine) The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch. --Knight.

11. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.

12. (Weaving) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk. --Knight.

13. (a) Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press. (b) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power to a power printing press for doing the same work.

14. The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof of the tent at no other place.

15. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.

16. The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.

17. (Baseball) A batted ball that flies to a considerable distance, usually high in the air; also, the flight of a ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly.

Black fly, Cheese fly, Dragon fly, etc. See under Black, Cheese, etc. -- Fly agaric (Bot.), a mushroom (Agaricus muscarius), having a narcotic juice which, in sufficient quantities, is poisonous. -- Fly block (Naut.), a pulley whose position shifts to suit the working of the tackle with which it is connected; -- used in the hoisting tackle of yards. -- Fly board (Printing Press), the board on which printed sheets are deposited by the fly. -- Fly book, a case in the form of a book for anglers' flies. --Kingsley.Fly cap, a cap with wings, formerly worn by women. -- Fly drill, a drill having a reciprocating motion controlled by a fly wheel, the driving power being applied by the hand through a cord winding in reverse directions upon the spindle as it rotates backward and forward. --Knight.Fly fishing, the act or art of angling with a bait of natural or artificial flies. --Walton.Fly flap, an implement for killing flies. -- Fly governor, a governor for regulating the speed of an engine, etc., by the resistance of vanes revolving in the air. -- Fly honeysuckle (Bot.), a plant of the honeysuckle genus (Lonicera), having a bushy stem and the flowers in pairs, as L. ciliata and L. Xylosteum. -- Fly hook, a fishhook supplied with an artificial fly. -- Fly leaf, an unprinted leaf at the beginning or end of a book, circular, programme, etc. -- Fly maggot, a maggot bred from the egg of a fly. --Ray.

Fly net, a screen to exclude insects.

Fly nut (Mach.), a nut with wings; a thumb nut; a finger nut.

Fly orchis (Bot.), a plant (Ophrys muscifera), whose flowers resemble flies.

Fly paper, poisoned or sticky paper for killing flies that feed upon or are entangled by it.

Fly powder, an arsenical powder used to poison flies.

Fly press, a screw press for punching, embossing, etc., operated by hand and having a heavy fly.

Fly rail, a bracket which turns out to support the hinged leaf of a table.

Fly rod, a light fishing rod used in angling with a fly.

Fly sheet, a small loose advertising sheet; a handbill.

Fly snapper (Zo["o]l.), an American bird (Phainopepla nitens), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. The male is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray.

Fly wheel (Mach.), a heavy wheel attached to machinery to equalize the movement (opposing any sudden acceleration by its inertia and any retardation by its momentum), and to accumulate or give out energy for a variable or intermitting resistance. See Fly, n., 9.

On the fly (Baseball), still in the air; -- said of a batted ball caught before touching the ground. .

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Fly\, a. Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning. [Slang] --Dickens.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Fly\, v. t. To manage (an aircraft) in flight; as, to fly an a["e]roplane.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Fly\, n. (Cotton Manuf.) Waste cotton.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fly

Heb. zebub, (Eccl. 10:1; Isa. 7:18). This fly was so grievous a pest that the Phoenicians invoked against it the aid of their god Baal-zebub (q.v.). The prophet Isaiah (7:18) alludes to some poisonous fly which was believed to be found on the confines of Egypt, and which would be called by the Lord. Poisonous flies exist in many parts of Africa, for instance, the different kinds of tsetse. Heb. 'arob, the name given to the insects sent as a plague on the land of Egypt (Ex. 8:21-31; Ps. 78:45; 105:31). The LXX. render this by a word which means the "dog-fly," the cynomuia. The Jewish commentators regarded the Hebrew word here as connected with the word _'arab_, which means "mingled;" and they accordingly supposed the plague to consist of a mixed multitude of animals, beasts, reptiles, and insects. But there is no doubt that "the _'arab_" denotes a single definite species. Some interpreters regard it as the Blatta orientalis, the cockroach, a species of beetle. These insects "inflict very painful bites with their jaws; gnaw and destroy clothes, household furniture, leather, and articles of every kind, and either consume or render unavailable all eatables."