Fly

[flaɪ]

Definition

(noun.) (baseball) a hit that flies up in the air.

(noun.) two-winged insects characterized by active flight.

(noun.) an opening in a garment that is closed by a zipper or by buttons concealed under a fold of cloth.

(noun.) fisherman's lure consisting of a fishhook decorated to look like an insect.

(verb.) change quickly from one emotional state to another; 'fly into a rage'.

(verb.) hit a fly.

(verb.) transport by aeroplane; 'We fly flowers from the Caribbean to North America'.

(verb.) be dispersed or disseminated; 'Rumors and accusations are flying'.

(verb.) travel in an airplane; 'she is flying to Cincinnati tonight'; 'Are we driving or flying?'.

(verb.) move quickly or suddenly; 'He flew about the place'.

(verb.) travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft; 'Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic'.

(verb.) cause to fly or float; 'fly a kite'.

(verb.) travel through the air; be airborne; 'Man cannot fly'.

(verb.) operate an airplane; 'The pilot flew to Cuba'.

(verb.) pass away rapidly; 'Time flies like an arrow'; 'Time fleeing beneath him'.

(verb.) display in the air or cause to float; 'fly a kite'; 'All nations fly their flags in front of the U.N.'.

(adj.) (British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked .

Inputed by Eleanor--From WordNet

Definition

(v. i.) To move in or pass thorugh the air with wings, as a bird.

(v. i.) To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.

(v. i.) To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.

(v. i.) To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; rumor flies.

(v. i.) To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee.

(v. i.) To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart.

(v. t.) To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc.

(v. t.) To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.

(v. t.) To hunt with a hawk.

(v. i.) Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings; as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly.

(v. i.) Any dipterous insect; as, the house fly; flesh fly; black fly. See Diptera, and Illust. in Append.

(v. i.) A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing.

(v. i.) A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant.

(v. i.) A parasite.

(v. i.) A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse.

(v. i.) The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the "union" to the extreme end.

(v. i.) The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.

(v. i.) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.

(v. i.) Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.

(v. i.) A heavy wheel, or cross arms with weights at the ends on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome, is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining press. See Fly wheel (below).

(v. i.) The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.

(v. i.) The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.

(v. i.) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.

(v. i.) Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press.

(v. i.) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power to a power printing press for doing the same work.

(v. i.) The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof of the tent at no other place.

(v. i.) One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.

(v. i.) The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.

(v. i.) A batted ball that flies to a considerable distance, usually high in the air; also, the flight of a ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly.

(a.) Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning.

Checker: Shelia

Synonyms and Synonymous

v. n. [1]. Soar, mount, hover, take wing.[2]. Flutter, float, wave, undulate.[3]. Burst, explode, be scattered, break in pieces, be broken to pieces.[4]. Flee, escape, decamp, abscond, make off, pack off, slip away, steal away, slink away.[5]. Pass, elapse, slip, glide, flit, roll on, flow on.

n. [1]. Winged insect.[2]. Fly-wheel.[3]. Compass card.

Editor: Maureen

Synonyms and Antonyms

[See FLEE]

Checked by Beth

Definition

v.i. to move through the air on wings: to move swiftly: to pass away: to flee: to burst quickly or suddenly: to flutter.—v.t. to avoid flee from: to cause to fly as a kite:—pr.p. fly′ing; pa.t. flew (flōō); pa.p. flown (flōn).—n. a popular name best restricted in its simplicity to the insects forming the order Diptera but often so widely used with a prefix—e.g. butterfly dragon-fly May-fly—as to be virtually equivalent to insect: a fish-hook dressed with silk &c. in imitation of a fly: a light double-seated carriage a hackney-coach: (mech.) a flywheel: (pl.) the large space above the proscenium in a theatre from which the scenes &c. are controlled.—adj. wide-awake: (slang) knowing.—adjs. Fly′away flighty; Fly′-bit′ten marked by the bite of flies.—n. Fly′blow the egg of a fly.—adj. Fly′blown tainted with the eggs which produce maggots.—ns. Fly′boat a long narrow swift boat used on canals; Fly′book a case like a book for holding fishing-flies; Fly′-catch′er a small bird so called from its catching flies while on the wing; Fly′-fish′er one who fishes with artificial flies as bait; Fly′-fish′ing the art of so fishing; Fly′-flap′per one who drives away flies with a fly-flap; Fly′ing-bridge a kind of ferry-boat which is moved across a river by the action of the combined forces of the stream and the resistance of a long rope or chain made fast to a fixed buoy in the middle of the river; Fly′ing-butt′ress an arch-formed prop which connects the walls of the upper and central portions of an aisled structure with the vertical buttresses of the outer walls; Fly′ing-camp a body of troops for rapid motion from one place to another; Fly′ing-Dutch′man a Dutch black spectral ship whose captain is condemned for his impieties to sweep the seas around the Cape of Storms unceasingly without ever being able to reach a haven; Fly′ing-fish a fish which can leap from the water and sustain itself in the air for a short time by its long pectoral fins as if flying; Fly′ing-fox a large frugivorous bat; Fly′ing-lē′mur a galeopithecoid insectivore whose fore and hind limbs are connected by a fold of skin enabling it to make flying leaps from tree to tree; Fly′ing-par′ty a small body of soldiers equipped for rapid movements used to harass an enemy; Fly′ing-phalan′ger a general popular name for the petaurists; Fly′ing-shot a shot fired at something in motion; Fly′ing-squid a squid having broad lateral fins by means of which it can spring high out of the water; Fly′ing-squirr′el a name given to two genera of squirrels which have a fold of skin between the fore and hind legs by means of which they can take great leaps in the air; Fly′leaf a blank leaf at the beginning and end of a book; Fly′-line a line for angling with an artificial fly; Fly′-mak′er one who ties artificial flies for angling; Fly′man one who works the ropes in the flies of a theatre; Fly′pāper a porous paper impregnated with poison for destroying flies; Fly′-pow′der a poisonous powder used for killing flies; Fly′-rail that part of a table which turns out to support the leaf.—adj. (Shak.) moving slow as a fly on its feet.—ns. Fly′-rod a light flexible rod used in fly-fishing usually in three pieces—butt second-joint and tip; Fly′-trap a trap to catch flies: (bot.) the spreading dog-bane also the Venus's fly-trap; Fly′wheel a large wheel with a heavy rim applied to machinery to equalise the effect of the driving effort.—Fly at to attack suddenly; Fly in the face of to insult: to oppose; Fly open to open suddenly or violently; Fly out to break out in a rage; Fly the kite to obtain money as by accommodation bills the endorser himself having no money; Fly upon to seize: to attack.—A fly in the ointment some slight flaw which corrupts a thing of value (Eccles. x. i.); Break a fly on the wheel to subject to a punishment out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence; Let fly to attack: to throw or send off; Make the feathers fly (see Feathers).

Inputed by Laura