fleet

1
[ fleet ]
See synonyms for: fleetfleetedfleetingfleets on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.

  2. the largest organization of warships under the command of a single officer.

  1. a number of naval vessels or vessels carrying armed crew members.

  2. a large group of ships, airplanes, trucks, etc., operated by a single company or under the same ownership: He owns a fleet of cabs.

  3. a large group of airplanes, automobiles, etc., moving or operating together.

Origin of fleet

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English flete, fleot(e), Old English flēot “bay, estuary; boat,” derivative of flēotan float; cf. fleet2

Other definitions for fleet (2 of 3)

fleet2
[ fleet ]

adjective,fleet·er, fleet·est.
  1. swift; rapid: to be fleet of foot;a fleet horse.

verb (used without object)
  1. to move swiftly; fly.

  2. Nautical. to change position; shift.

  1. Archaic.

    • to glide along like a stream.

    • to fade; vanish.

  2. Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.

  2. Nautical.

    • to move or change the position of.

    • to separate the blocks of (a tackle).

    • to lay (a rope) along a deck.

Origin of fleet

2
First recorded in 1520–30; probably from or akin to Old Norse fljótr “quick, speedy”

Other words for fleet

Other words from fleet

  • fleetly, adverb
  • fleetness, noun

Other definitions for fleet (3 of 3)

fleet3
[ fleet ]

nounBritish Dialect.
  1. an arm of the sea; inlet.

  2. a creek; stream; watercourse.

  1. the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.

Origin of fleet

3
First recorded before 900; Middle English flete, Old English flēot “flowing water”; cognate with German Fliess “brook”; def. 3 is so called after the Fleet a stream, later covered and used as a sewer, near which the prison was located; cf. fleet1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fleet in a sentence

  • He espied the deep tracks of the elk and fleetly followed him.

    Zui Fetiches | Frank Hamilton Cushing
  • The party of Indians dragging her fleetly over the smooth prairie met her chilled view.

    Wild Western Scenes | John Beauchamp Jones
  • The attack seemed to be directed entirely against the east side, and to that quarter the two of us ran fleetly.

    The Cryptogram | William Murray Graydon
  • Harriet drew her veil closely over her face, and almost as fleetly sought her father's dwelling.

    The Cavaliers of Virginia | William A. Caruthers
  • Thus he spoke; but they, dreading the exhortation of their master, ran more fleetly, and became very near the others.

British Dictionary definitions for fleet (1 of 4)

fleet1

/ (fliːt) /


noun
  1. a number of warships organized as a tactical unit

  2. all the warships of a nation

  1. a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership

Origin of fleet

1
Old English flēot ship, flowing water, from flēotan to float

British Dictionary definitions for fleet (2 of 4)

fleet2

/ (fliːt) /


adjective
  1. rapid in movement; swift

  2. poetic fleeting; transient

verb
  1. (intr) to move rapidly

  2. (intr) archaic to fade away smoothly; glide

  1. (tr) nautical

    • to change the position of (a hawser)

    • to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in

    • to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)

  2. (intr) obsolete to float or swim

  3. (tr) obsolete to cause (time) to pass rapidly

Origin of fleet

2
probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain

Derived forms of fleet

  • fleetly, adverb
  • fleetness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for fleet (3 of 4)

fleet3

/ (fliːt) /


noun
  1. mainly Southeast English a small coastal inlet; creek

Origin of fleet

3
Old English flēot flowing water; see fleet 1

British Dictionary definitions for Fleet (4 of 4)

Fleet

/ (fliːt) /


nounthe Fleet
  1. a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer

  2. Also called: Fleet Prison (formerly) a London prison, esp used for holding debtors

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