fleet Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
  2. noun group of motor vehicles operating together under the same ownership
  3. noun a group of steamships operating together under the same ownership
  4. noun a group of warships organized as a tactical unit
  5. verb move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
    flit; dart; flutter.
    • The hummingbird flitted among the branches
  6. verb disappear gradually
    blow over; fade; pass; evanesce; pass off.
    • The pain eventually passed off
  7. adjective satellite moving very fast
    swift.
    • fleet of foot
    • the fleet scurrying of squirrels
    • a swift current
    • swift flight of an arrow
    • a swift runner

WordNet

Fleet intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fleótan to swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG. fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. flj&omac;ta to float, flow, Sw. flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. to sail, swim, float, Skr. plu to swim, sail. Cf. Fleet, n. & a., Float, Pluvial, Flow.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Fleeted; present participle & verbal noun Fleeting
Definitions
  1. To sail; to float. Obs.
    And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet. Spenser.
  2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance.
    All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . . Dissolved on earth, fleet hither. Milton.
  3. (Naut.) To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; -- said of a cable or hawser.
Fleet transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To pass over rapidly; to skin the surface of; as, a ship that fleets the gulf. Spenser.
  2. To hasten over; to cause to pass away lighty, or in mirth and joy.
    Many young gentlemen flock to him, and fleet the time carelessly. Shak.
  3. (Naut.) (a) To draw apart the blocks of; -- said of a tackle. Totten. (b) To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass, as a rope or chain.
Fleet adjective
Etymology
Cf. Icel. fljtr quick. See Fleet, v. i.
Wordforms
comparative Fleeter ; superlative Fleetest
Definitions
  1. Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in going from place to place; nimble.
    In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong. Milton.
  2. Light; superficially thin; not penetring deep, as soil. Prov. Eng. Mortimer.
Fleet noun
Etymology
OE. flete, fleote, AS. fleót ship, fr. fleótan to float, swim. See Fleet, v. i. and cf. Float.
Definitions
  1. A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, etc. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Fleet noun
Etymology
AS. fleót a place where vessels float, bay, river; akin to D. vliet rill, brook, G. fliess. See Fleet, v. i.
Definitions
  1. A flood; a creek or inlet; a bay or estuary; a river; -- obsolete, except as a place name, -- as Fleet Street in London.
    Together wove we nets to entrap the fish In floods and sedgy fleets. Matthewes.
  2. A former prison in London, which originally stood near a stream, the Fleet (now filled up).
Fleet transitive verb
Etymology
AS. flet cream, fr. fleótan to float. See Fleet, v. i.
Definitions
  1. To take the cream from; to skim. Prov. Eng. Johnson.

Webster 1913