fleet
1the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.
the largest organization of warships under the command of a single officer.
a number of naval vessels or vessels carrying armed crew members.
a large group of ships, airplanes, trucks, etc., operated by a single company or under the same ownership: He owns a fleet of cabs.
a large group of airplanes, automobiles, etc., moving or operating together.
Origin of fleet
1Other definitions for fleet (2 of 3)
Archaic.
to glide along like a stream.
to fade; vanish.
Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.
to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.
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
2Other words for fleet
Other words from fleet
- fleetly, adverb
- fleetness, noun
Other definitions for fleet (3 of 3)
an arm of the sea; inlet.
a creek; stream; watercourse.
the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.
Origin of fleet
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fleet in a sentence
He produced for the airlines awaiting delivery of 747 fleets sketches of the possibilities.
As the British and U.S. air forces built huge fleets of bombers the tables turned.
Life Under Air Strikes: Children Under Fire Will Never Forget — or Forgive | Clive Irving | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNobody wants to know the answer to this more than the airlines that operate fleets of Boeing 777s.
There is not an inexhaustible supply of experienced pilots to operate these fleets.
Flight 370 Is Just the Start: Why Asia Isn't Getting Air Safety Right | Clive Irving | March 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd across the U.S. fleets there are many stages of technical sophistication between these two extremes.
Your iPod (Most Likely) Won’t Bring Down the Plane | Clive Irving | October 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Action between the Swedish and Russian fleets, in which the former were defeated with great loss.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellWhole fleets of boats with illicit cargoes had been passing and repassing between Kent and Picardy.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayFew people know that large numbers of the splendid seamen who man our North Sea fishing fleets are arrant Cockneys.
The Chequers | James RuncimanDoes anyone ever think nowadays of the horrors that were to be seen among the fleets not so very long ago?
The Chequers | James RuncimanThe smack was well clear of the fleets and spinning along nicely to southward on a dark night, and Jack was at the wheel.
The Chequers | James Runciman
British Dictionary definitions for fleet (1 of 4)
/ (fliːt) /
a number of warships organized as a tactical unit
all the warships of a nation
a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership
Origin of fleet
1British Dictionary definitions for fleet (2 of 4)
/ (fliːt) /
rapid in movement; swift
poetic fleeting; transient
(intr) to move rapidly
(intr) archaic to fade away smoothly; glide
(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)
(intr) obsolete to float or swim
(tr) obsolete to cause (time) to pass rapidly
Origin of fleet
2Derived forms of fleet
- fleetly, adverb
- fleetness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for fleet (3 of 4)
/ (fliːt) /
mainly Southeast English a small coastal inlet; creek
Origin of fleet
3British Dictionary definitions for Fleet (4 of 4)
/ (fliːt) /
a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer
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
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