Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To engage in flight, especially.
- intransitive verb To move through the air by means of wings or winglike parts.
- intransitive verb To travel by air.
- intransitive verb To operate an aircraft or spacecraft.
- intransitive verb To rise in or be carried through the air by the wind.
- intransitive verb To float or flap in the air.
- intransitive verb To move or be sent through the air with great speed.
- intransitive verb To move with great speed; rush or dart.
- intransitive verb To be communicated to many people.
- intransitive verb To flee; escape.
- intransitive verb To hasten; spring.
- intransitive verb To pass by swiftly.
- intransitive verb To be dissipated; vanish.
- intransitive verb Baseball To hit a fly ball.
- intransitive verb To shatter or explode.
- intransitive verb To become suddenly emotional, especially angry.
- intransitive verb Informal To gain acceptance or approval; go over.
- intransitive verb To cause to fly or float in the air.
- intransitive verb Nautical To operate under (a particular flag).
- intransitive verb To pilot (an aircraft or spacecraft).
- intransitive verb To carry or transport in an aircraft or spacecraft.
- intransitive verb To pass over or through in flight.
- intransitive verb To perform in a spacecraft or aircraft.
- intransitive verb To flee or run from.
- intransitive verb To avoid; shun.
- noun The act of flying; flight.
- noun The opening, or the fastening that closes this opening, on the front of a pair of pants.
- noun The flap of cloth that covers this opening.
- noun A piece of protective fabric secured over a tent and often extended over the entrance.
- noun A flyleaf.
- noun Baseball A fly ball.
- noun Sports In swimming, butterfly.
- noun The span of a flag from the staff to the outer edge.
- noun The outer edge of a flag.
- noun A flywheel.
- noun The area directly over the stage of a theater, containing overhead lights, drop curtains, and equipment for raising and lowering sets.
- noun Chiefly British A one-horse carriage, especially one for hire.
- idiom (fly high) To be elated.
- idiom (fly off the handle) To become suddenly enraged.
- idiom (let fly) To shoot, hurl, or release.
- idiom (let fly) To lash out; assault.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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You take the strand of gut on which the next fly you purpose affixing is dressed, and laying it along the main line, _taking care to have the hook lying in the reverse direction from the tail fly_, you tie it into the line a yard from the fly already attached.
Scotch Loch-Fishing William Senior
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And I was so happy, so wonderfully happy, that a great big something rose within me, and I felt so -- so queer, as if I could fly, and fly, and _fly_!
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I show up and I hate to use the term fly by the seat of my pants.
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And just when you're thinking that you really understand the term fly-over country, you drive into something like Bartlesville and wonder what else you've been speeding past.
KinoSport 2009
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I show up and I hate to use the term fly by the seat of my pants.
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Don't worry about where the fly is at ... it will come along with the line.
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Don't worry about where the fly is at ... it will come along with the line.
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Controlling the fly is always of utmost importance.
What type of tippet should I use for steel head when I fly fish 2009
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Controlling the fly is always of utmost importance.
What type of tippet should I use for steel head when I fly fish 2009
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With a Mercury bead at the hook eye and a single strand of Flashabou across the back of the hook shank, the fly is a very close match to the natural.
Fly of the Month: Flashback Mercury Black Beauty Tim Romano 2008
adoarns commented on the word fly
In medical intensive care units, to fly means to be able to withstand removal of a breathng tube more or less permanently. I.e., "Ms Bucket just t-pieced for three hours and her lungs sound clear, should we extubate?" "Yeah, I think she'll fly."
January 26, 2008
reesetee commented on the word fly
In an odd way, that sounds lovely.
January 27, 2008
bilby commented on the word fly
"The most vociferous of the invaders of the Doral were probably no more than self-seekers and stoned demagogues, but there were more perilous infiltrations into the ranks of the non-delegates. The Yippies smelled a grand jury and more conspiracy trials in the offing and clammed up, but the vets, the most persuasive antiwar group in the country, were not so fly."
- 'The Big Tease', Germaine Greer in Harper's Monthly Magazine, Oct 1972.
April 13, 2008
reesetee commented on the word fly
A horse-drawn public coach or delivery wagon, especially one let out for hire. Also a light, covered vehicle, such as a single-horse carriage used for non-business purposes.
October 22, 2008
bilby commented on the word fly
The Lord in His wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.
- Ogden Nash, 'The Fly'.
December 5, 2008
dontcry commented on the word fly
"Little fly
thy summer's play...."
July 25, 2010