fly
Part of speech: noun
verb
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: biology
business
entomology
finance
fishing
hobbies
lifestyle
natural-sciences
sports
swimming
weightlifting
zoology
Etymology: From Middle English flye, flie, from Old English flȳġe, flēoge (“a fly”), from Proto-West Germanic *fleugā, from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ (“a fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”).
Cognate with Scots flee, Saterland Frisian Fljooge, Dutch vlieg, German Low German Fleeg, German Fliege, Danish flue, Norwegian Bokmål flue, Norwegian Nynorsk fluge, Swedish fluga, Icelandic fluga.
Inflected forms:
form: flies
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: flies
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: flying
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: flew
pos: verb
tags: past
form: flown
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: fly
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: fly
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: flew
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: fly
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: fliest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: flyest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: flew
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: flewest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: flies
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: flieth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: flyeth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: flew
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: fly
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: flew
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: fly
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: flew
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: fly
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: flying
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: flown
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: flier
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: flyer
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: fliest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: flyest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
pos: noun
examples: Devils Lake is where I began my career as a limnologist in 1964, studying the lake’s neotenic salamanders and chironomids, or midge flies. […] The Devils Lake Basin is an endorheic, or closed, basin covering about 9,800 square kilometers in northeastern North Dakota.
gloss: Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
pos: noun
examples: When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies.
October in Orania can be charming. When the sun sets, long ribbons of burnt orange settle on the horizon. The flies and mosquitoes that come with the oppressive summer heat haven’t arrived yet. It is Magdalene Kleynhans’ favourite time of year. “You can sit outside until late into the night,” says the businesswoman, whose family spend much of their time outdoors. Her children fish from the banks of the Orange River whenever they choose. Kleynhans leaves the house unlocked. “It’s a good life. It’s a big privilege.”
gloss: Those or any similar but not closely related insect, such as a dragonfly, butterfly, or gallfly.
pos: noun
gloss: A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
pos: noun
examples: I went on trying for fish along the western bank down the river, but only small trout rose at my flies, and a score was the total catch.
gloss: A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest. (also flye)
pos: noun
gloss: The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys).
pos: noun
gloss: A witch's familiar.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: a trifling fly, none of your great familiars
gloss: A parasite.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: The fly that plays too near the flame burns in it.
gloss: A simple dance in which the hands are shaken in the air, popular in the 1960s.
pos: noun
gloss: A butterfly (combination of four options).
pos: noun
gloss: To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Birds of passage fly to warmer regions as it gets colder in winter.
The Concorde flew from Paris to New York faster than any other passenger airplane.
It takes about eleven hours to fly from Frankfurt to Hong Kong.
The little fairy flew home on the back of her friend, the giant eagle.
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
The railway is still vital to Jordan's export trade, but in spite of the poor quality of the road, diesel lorries are gradually robbing it of freight traffic, and anyone who can afford to fly does so rather than face the long desert journey by rail.
I want to reach out and touch the sky / I want to touch the sun, but I don't need to fly
Flying using only the power of the sun is an enticing prospect. But manned solar-powered aircraft are fragile and slow, […].
gloss: To flee, to escape (from).
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
archaic
poetic
examples: Fly, my lord! The enemy are upon us!
[V]pon a ſodaine, / As Falſtaffe, ſhe, and I, are newly met, / Let them [children dressed like "urchins, ouphes and fairies"] from forth a ſaw-pit ruſh at once / With ſome diffuſed ſong: Vpon their ſight / We two, in great amazedneſſe will flye: […]
to fly the favours of so good a king
Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight.
Sleep flies the wretch.
And boyhood is a summer sun
Whose waning is the dreariest one —
For all we live to know is known
And all we seek to keep hath flown — […]
He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. “Fly, you fools!” he cried, and was gone.
gloss: To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like.
pos: verb
tags: ergative
transitive
examples: Charles Lindbergh flew his airplane The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic ocean.
Why don’t you go outside and fly kites, kids? The wind is just perfect.
Birds fly their prey to their nest to feed it to their young.
Each day the postal service flies thousands of letters around the globe.
The brave black flag I fly.
A solar-powered unmanned aerial system (a UAS, more commonly called a drone) could fly long, lonely missions that conventional aircraft would not be capable of.
This area, referred to as the fly loft, should typically be two and a half times taller than the proscenium opening in order to fly the scenery above the vertical sightlines of the first row of the audience.
gloss: To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: He flew down the hill on his bicycle.
It's five o'clock already. Doesn't time fly?
Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race.
The dark waves murmured as the ship flew on.
After yet another missed penalty by Kvirikashvili from bang in front of the posts, England scored again, centre Tuilagi flying into the line and touching down under the bar.
gloss: To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: a door flies open
a bomb flies apart
And in respect of the great necessity there is, my darling, for more employments being within the reach of Woman than our civilisation has as yet assigned to her, don’t fly at the unfortunate men, even those men who are at first sight in your way, as if they were the natural oppressors of your sex […]
I was upstairs, trying hastily to fix my face and unredden my eyes when I heard a car on the drive and flew to a window to make sure that it was David.
gloss: To proceed with great success.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: His career is really flying at the moment.
One moment the company was flying high, the next it was on its knees.
gloss: To be accepted, come about or work out.
pos: verb
tags: colloquial
intransitive
examples: Let's see if that idea flies.
You know, I just don't think that's going to fly. Why don't you spend your time on something better?
gloss: To display (a flag) on a flagpole.
pos: verb
tags: ergative
transitive
gloss: To hunt with a hawk.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: We'll fly the partridge, or go rouse the deer.
gloss: To be in the winged adult stage.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: This species flies from late summer until frost.
gloss: Quick-witted, alert, mentally sharp.
pos: adj
tags: dated
slang
examples: be assured, O man of sin—pilferer of small wares and petty larcener—that there is an eye within keenly glancing from some loophole contrived between accordions and tin breastplates that watches your every movement, and is "fly,"— to use a term peculiarly comprehensible to dishonest minds—to the slightest gesture of illegal conveyancing.
gloss: Clandestine, surreptitious
pos: adj
tags: slang
examples: Some say God was an alien that tampered with our DNA, the 3 kings followed ufos & Mary had a fly shag 🤔🤫
gloss: Well dressed, smart in appearance; in style, cool.
pos: adj
tags: slang
examples: He's pretty fly.
when Ortega got fixed up in his fly duds like that, an ord'nary man's overcoat wouldn't make 'im a pair o' socks.
Give it to me, baby! Uh huh, uh huh! And all the girlies say, I’m pretty fly for a white guy.
Starring the light-skinned Ron O'Neal with his shoulder-length perm and fly threads, Super Fly exudes a sense of black pride as O'Neal bucks the dope game, dismisses his white girlfriend, and beats The Man at his own hustle.
A fly sister rolled in with a suitcase full of hip-hop novels called The Glamorous Life, and an African brother with long dreads wanted to sell them some incense and some fake Jacob watches.
How NOT to Facebook / […] no naked pictures, no deep emotions (awkward), no tagging a bunch of people in a picture of some fly Nikes, no making dinner plans (just use a PHONE).
Harry [Styles] and Grimmy had struck up quite a friendship with Rita [Ora] and a few weeks earlier had been seen at G-A-Y for her album launch. She tweeted a picture of the trio saying: ‘Thanks for coming my little fashionistas. Looking flyer than a mofo.’
I'm so fly, I don't even try / I get so high, I can touch the sky / Dress for myself, I don't dress for hype / I dress for myself, you dress for the likes
gloss: Beautiful; displaying physical beauty.
pos: adj
tags: slang
examples: [Rahiem] My name brings peace and tranquility / So all the fly ladies' hearts can run free
Word is bond she looked divine, she looked as fly as can be
I thought she was different cause she was by herself
She looked real wholesome, and in good physical health
I rap for listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners
Synonyms: flee
abscond
flit
zoom
Antonyms: walk
remain
stay
Related words: fly agaric
flight
Derived words: a closed mouth catches no flies
adder fly
alderfly
alkali fly
and no flies
antifly
apple fly
assassin fly
awl-fly
banana fly
bar fly
bat fly
bee fly
beetfly
Bill Gates' flower fly
black fly
blind-fly
blister fly
blow fly
blue fly
bobfly
bot fly
bottlefly
break a fly on a wheel
break a fly on the wheel
break a fly upon a wheel
break a fly upon the wheel
breezefly
brine fly
Brues' soldier fly
bull-fly
burrel fly
bush fly
cabbage fly
canker fly
carrot fly
carrot rust fly
catchfly
cheese fly
cluster fly
coffin fly
corn fly
crane fly
dance fly
dayfly
dead fly biscuit
deer fly
deerfly
deer fly fever
die like flies
dobsonfly
dogfly
dolphin fly
drink with the flies
dry fly
dungfly
eggfly
eye fly
face fly
fairyfly
fire-fly
fishfly
flesh fly
fleshfly
flesh-fly
flower-fly
flower fly
fly agaric
fly amanita
fly-ass
flybane
fly belt
fly biscuit
fly-bitten
flyblow
fly-blown
flyblown
fly-boat
flyboat
fly-bombed
flybook
fly box
fly-box
fly-boy
fly car
flycatcher
fly-catcher
flyfish
fly-fish
flyfisher
flyfisherman
fly fishing
fly-fishing
flyflap
flyflapper
fly fungus
fly-grazing
fly grazing
fly in the buttermilk
fly in the ointment
fly killer
flyleaf
flyless
fly line
flyloft
flymaker
flymph
flynet
fly on the wall
fly orchid
flypaper
fly-paper
fly paper
fly-papered
fly pie
fly powder
flyproof
fly rail
flyrobin
flyrod
fly rod
fly-rod
fly screen
flyscreen
fly sheet
flysheet
fly-sheet
fly slip
flyspeck
fly spray
flystrike
flystruck
fly swat
flyswat
fly swatter
flyswatter
flytime
flytrap
flyweight
flywhisk
flywire
forest fly
freeloader fly
frit fly
froth-fly
fruitfly
garbage fly
glow fly
gout fly
green bottle fly
griffinfly
harm a fly
harvest fly
hawk-fly
hawthorn fly
Hessian fly
hippo fly
honey catches more flies than vinegar
honeymoon fly
hop fly
hornet fly
horse bot fly
horse fly
horse-fly
hover-fly
hurt a fly
ichneumon fly
lady-fly
lake fly
lanternfly
lanthorn-fly
leaf-miner fly
like a blue-arsed fly
like flies on a rib roast
like flies on pie
long-legged fly
lord of the flies
louse fly
mango fly
mantidfly
mantisfly
March fly
meat fly
Mediterranean fruit fly
mistfly
muck fly
Mydas fly
Nairobi fly
night fly
no flies on
noon fly
olive fly
olive fruit fly
onion fly
orl fly
owlfly
oxfly
palmfly
Paul Allen's flower fly
peacock fly
penis fly trap
petroleum fly
phantom crane fly
picture-winged fly
potato fly
rail fly
robber fly
robberfly
root fly
rust fly
sac fly
sacrifice fly
scorpionfly
scuttle fly
sedge fly
sewer fly
shadfly
shoo-fly pie
shoofly pie
shoo-fly plant
shoot fly
shore fly
smother-fly
snakefly
snipe fly
snow fly
soldier fly
Spanish fly
spider fly
squashed fly biscuit
stable fly
stalk-eyed fly
stiletto fly
St. Mark's fly
stonefly
sugarcane soldier fly
superfly
syrphus fly
timber fly
tsetse fly
tumbu fly
turnip fly
upwing fly
urfly
Venus fly trap
wet fly
whame fly
wheat fly
willow fly
window fly
wouldn't harm a fly
wouldn't hurt a fly
you attract more flies with honey than vinegar
you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar
you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
you catch more flies with honey than vinegar
you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
fly ash
afly
as the crow flies
as the gull flies
as the raven flies
backspot flying fish
befly
build the plane while flying it
could eat the arse out of a low flying duck
could eat the crotch out of a low flying duck
could eat the crutch from a low flying duck
don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly
fill and fly
flag-flying
flyable
fly a desk
fly and flop
fly apart
fly at
flyaway
flyback
fly baker
flybar
fly blind
fly bomb
flyboy
flybridge
fly by
flyby
fly-by-light
fly-by-night
fly-by-nighter
fly by the seat of one's pants
fly-by-wire
flycatch
flycatching
flycraft
flycrank
fly cutter
flyer
flyey
fly high
fly in
fly-in
fly-in fly-out
flying ace
flying army
flying bishop
flying bomb
flying brick
flying bridge
flying camp
flying car
flying carp
flying carpet
flying cat
flying circus
flying coffin
flying colors
flying colours
flying disc
flying disc golf
flying doctor
flying dragon
flying fig
flying freehold
flying frog
flying fuck
flying ginny
flying gurnard
flying handkerchief
flying helmet
flying jenny
flying jib
flying jib boom
flying kiss
flying knee
flying lap
flying lemur
flying machine
flying mare
flying meet
flying monkeys
flying mouse
flying ointment
flying party
flying phalanger
flying picket
flying purple people-eater
flying purple people eater
flying rat
flying rod
flying rowan
flying saucer group
flying school
flying shot
flying sport
flying stationer
flying toilet
flying wedge
flying white
flying wing
fly in the face of
fly into
fly low
fly off
flyoff
fly off the shelves
flyout
fly out
fly out of the blocks
fly out of the traps
flyover
fly-over
fly-past
flypast
fly-pitch
fly-pitcher
flypost
fly-poster
fly-posting
fly the blue pigeon
fly the coop
fly the flag
fly the freak flag
fly the kite
fly the nest
fly-through
flythrough
fly-tip
fly-tipper
fly-tipping
fly too close to the sun
fly-under
flyunder
fly under the radar
fly up
fly upon
flyway
flywheel
fly with leaden wings
fly without a licence
flyworthy
free-fly
fur-flying
give a flying fuck
go fly a kite
high-flying
if pigs had wings, they would fly
in flying colors
in flying colours
Japanese flying squid
keep the flag flying
kiss and fly
kite flying
let fly
make the dust fly
make the feathers fly
make the fur fly
Malabar flying frog
Malaysian flying lemur
monkeys might fly out of my butt
non-flying
outfly
overfly
Philippine flying lemur
pigs can fly
pigs may fly
pigs might fly
pilot flying
pilot not flying
refly
Siberian flying squirrel
sparks fly
speed flying
straighten up and fly right
Sunda flying lemur
take a flying fuck at a rolling donut
take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut
take a flying leap
test-fly
the feathers fly
the fur flies
time flies
time flies like an arrow
fruit flies like a banana
time flies when you're having fun
unidentified flying object
upfly
watch the feathers fly
watch the fur fly
when pigs can fly
when pigs fly
with flying colors
with flying colours
yogic flying
flycop
flyness
Translations: