fleet

1
[ fleet ]
See synonyms for fleet 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

  • One waits at the bottom of a field, while his partner quarters the ground with the arrowy fleetness of a swallow.

    The Chequers | James Runciman
  • I knew then that Owen had had a narrow escape, and but for the fleetness of foot of Evan he would surely have been slain.

    A Prince of Cornwall | Charles W. Whistler
  • Among his other gubernatorial accomplishments was a remarkable fleetness of foot.

    South American Fights and Fighters | Cyrus Townsend Brady
  • The latter being promised a liberal reward, bounded away with the fleetness of a deer, and quickly vanished in the gloom.

    The Life of Kit Carson | Edward S. Ellis
  • She called her wild steed to her side, and, plucking these flowers to test his fleetness, sprang upon him and flew hither.

    Wild Western Scenes | John Beauchamp Jones

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012