take flight
noun
Idioms 1.
an act or instance of fleeing or running away; hasty departure.
2.
3.
take flight, to retreat; run away; flee: The wild animals took flight before the onrushing fire. Also, take to flight.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To take flight
Collins
World English Dictionary
flight1 (flaɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the act, skill, or manner of flying |
| 2. | a journey made by a flying animal or object |
| 3. | a. a scheduled airline journey |
| b. an aircraft flying on such a journey | |
| 4. | a group of flying birds or aircraft: a flight of swallows |
| 5. | the basic tactical unit of a military air force |
| 6. | a journey through space, esp of a spacecraft |
| 7. | rapid movement or progress |
| 8. | a soaring mental journey above or beyond the normal everyday world: a flight of fancy |
| 9. | a. a single line of hurdles across a track in a race |
| b. a series of such hurdles | |
| 10. | a bird's wing or tail feather; flight feather |
| 11. | a feather or plastic attachment fitted to an arrow or dart to give it stability in flight |
| 12. | See flight arrow |
| 13. | the distance covered by a flight arrow |
| 14. | esp sport, cricket |
| a. a flighted movement imparted to a ball, dart, etc | |
| b. the ability to flight a ball | |
| 15. | angling a device on a spinning lure that revolves rapidly |
| 16. | a set of steps or stairs between one landing or floor and the next |
| 17. | a large enclosed area attached to an aviary or pigeon loft where the birds may fly but not escape |
| —vb | |
| 18. | (tr) sport to cause (a ball, dart, etc) to float slowly or deceptively towards its target |
| 19. | (intr) (of wild fowl) to fly in groups |
| 20. | (tr) to shoot (a bird) in flight |
| 21. | (tr) to fledge (an arrow or a dart) |
| [Old English flyht; related to Middle Dutch vlucht, Old Saxon fluht] | |
00:10
Take flight
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| flight2 (flaɪt) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the act of fleeing or running away, as from danger |
| 2. | put to flight to cause to run away; rout |
| 3. | take flight, take to flight to run away or withdraw hastily; flee |
| [Old English flyht (unattested); related to Old Frisian flecht, Old High German fluht, Old Norse flōtti] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
flight
"flying," O.E. flyht "a flying, flight." from P.Gmc. *flukhtiz (cf. Low Ger. flugt, Ger. Flucht). Spelling altered from M.E. fliht c. 1385 (see fight), from root of *fleugan "to fly" (see fly (v.1)). Meaning "an instance of flight" is 1785, originally of ballooning. Meaning
"series of stairs between landings" is from 1703.
flight
"fleeing," from M.E. fluht (c.1200), not found in O.E., but presumed to have existed. Related to O.E. fleon "flee" (see flee).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
take flight
Also, take wing. Run away, flee, go away, as in When the militia arrived, the demonstrators took flight, or The tenant took wing before paying the rent. The first idiom derives from the earlier take one's flight, dating from the late 1300s, and was first recorded in 1435. The variant was first recorded in 1704.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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