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   fly

   /flʌɪ/

   verb

   • 1. (of a bird, bat, or insect) move through the air using wings: "close the door or the moths will fly in" Similar travel through the airwing its waywingglidesoarwheelflutterflithoverhangtake wingtake to the airmount
   • ▪ (of an aircraft or its occupants) travel through the air: "I fly back to London this evening" Similar travel/go by airtravel/go by planejetair-dash
   • ▪ control the flight of (an aircraft): "he flew Hurricanes in the war" Similar pilotoperatecontrolmanoeuvresteerguidedirectnavigate
   • ▪ transport in an aircraft: "helicopters flew the injured to hospital" Similar transport by air/planeairliftliftjet
   • ▪ accomplish (a purpose) in an aircraft: "pilots trained to fly combat missions"
   • ▪ release (a bird) to fly, especially a hawk for hunting or a pigeon for racing: "I can't fly my hawk for the final because he is too heavy"
   • 2. move or be hurled quickly through the air: "balls kept flying over her hedge"
   • ▪ (of accusations or insults) be exchanged swiftly and heatedly: "the accusations flew thick and fast"
   • ▪ (of a report) be circulated swiftly and widely: "rumours were flying around Manchester"
   • ▪ hit a ball high into the air: "he flied out to the left field"
   • 3. wave or flutter in the wind: "she ran after him, her hair flying behind her" Similar flutterflapwaveblowwaftfloatstream
   • ▪ (with reference to a flag) display or be displayed on a flagpole: "vessels which flew the Spanish flag" Similar displayshowexhibithave hoistedhave run up
   • 4. go or move quickly: "she flew along the path"
   • ▪ depart hastily: informal "I must fly!" Similar racehurryhastenflashdashdartrushshootspeedhurtlestreakreally movespank alongwhirlwhizzgo like lightninggo hell for leatherwhooshbuzzzoomswoopblastchargestampedegallopchasecareerbustlesweepharewingscurryscudscutterinformal:beltscootscorchtearzapzipwhip (along)get crackingget a move onstep on itburn rubbergo like a bat out of hellbombbucketshiftput one's foot downclipboogiehightailbarrellay rubbervulgar slang:drag/tear/haul assliterary:fleetarchaic:posthie
   • ▪ (of time) pass swiftly: "the evening had just flown by" Similar go quicklyfly by/pastpass swiftlyslip pastrush past
   • ▪ run away; flee: archaic "those that fly may fight again" Similar fleerunrun awayrun offmake a run for itrun for ittake flightbe gonemake offtake offtake to one's heelsmake a break for itboltbeat a (hasty) retreatmake a quick exitmake one's getawayescapeabsent oneselfmake oneself scarceabscondhead for the hillsdo a disappearing actinformal:beat itclear offclear outvamooseskedaddlesplitcut and runshow a clean pair of heelsturn tailscramdo a runnerscarperdo a bunkleg itlight outbug outcut outpeel outtake a powderskiddoogo throughshoot throughvulgar slang:bugger offarchaic:levant
   • ▪ escape from in haste; flee from: archaic "you must fly the country for a while" Similar run away fromleave hastily/abruptlyfleeescape frominformal:skip
   • 5. be successful: informal North American "that idea didn't fly with most other council members"

   noun

   • 1. an opening at the crotch of a pair of trousers, closed with a zip or buttons and typically covered with a flap.
   • ▪ a flap of material covering the opening or fastening of a garment or of a tent.
   • 2. the space over the stage in a theatre.
   • 3. short for fly ball
   • 4. a one-horse hackney carriage. historical British
   • 5. an attempt: informal Australian, New Zealand "we decided to give it a fly"

   Word Origin Old Englishflēogan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vliegen and German fliegen, also to fly2.

   Derivatives

   • 1. flyable adjective

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • F

     4

   • L

     1

   • Y

     4

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