fly

¹ American  

[flahy] / flaɪ /

noun

• flies
  plural

1. Also called true fly.  any of numerous two-winged insects of the order Diptera, especially of the family Muscidae, as the common housefly.

2. any of various winged insects, as the mayfly or firefly.

3. Angling. a fishhook dressed with hair, feathers, silk, tinsel, etc., so as to resemble an insect or small fish, for use as a lure or bait.

4. Astronomy. Fly, the constellation Musca.

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idioms

1. fly in the ointment, a detrimental factor; detraction.

   If there's one fly in the ointment, it's that there may not be the money to finish the job.

fly ² American  

[flahy] / flaɪ /

verb (used without object)

• flies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flew,
  past
• flied,
  past participle,  past
• flown,
  past participle
• flying
  present participle

1. to move through the air using wings.

2. to be carried through the air by the wind or any other force or agency.

   bits of paper flying about.

3. to float or flutter in the air.

   flags flying in the breeze.

4. to travel in an aircraft or spacecraft.

5. to move suddenly and quickly; start unexpectedly.

   He flew from the room.

6. to change rapidly and unexpectedly from one state or position to another.

   The door flew open.

7. to flee; escape.

8. to travel in space.

   The probe will fly past the planet.

9. to move or pass swiftly.

   How time flies!

10. to move with an aggressive surge.

    A mother fox will fly at anyone approaching her kits.

11. Baseball.

    1. to bat a fly ball.

       He flied into right field.

    2. to fly out.

12. Informal. to be acceptable, believable, or feasible.

    It seemed like a good idea, but it just wouldn't fly.

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verb (used with object)

• flies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flew,
  past
• flied,
  past participle,  past
• flown,
  past participle
• flying
  present participle

1. to make (something) float or move through the air.

   to fly a kite.

2. to operate (an aircraft, spacecraft, or the like).

3. to hoist aloft, as for display, signaling, etc..

   to fly a flag.

4. to operate an aircraft or spacecraft over.

   to fly the Pacific.

5. to transport or convey by air.

   We fly merchandise to Boston.

6. to escape from; flee.

   to fly someone's wrath.

7. Theater.

   1. to hang (scenery) above a stage by means of rigging supported by the gridiron.

   2. to raise (scenery) from the stage or acting area into the flies.

noun

• flies
  plural

1. a strip of material sewn along one edge of a garment opening for concealing buttons, zippers, or other fasteners.

2. a flap forming the door of a tent.

3. Also called tent fly.  a piece of canvas extending over the ridgepole of a tent and forming an outer roof.

4. an act of flying; a flight.

5. the course of a flying object, as a ball.

6. Baseball. fly ball.

7. British. a light, covered, public carriage drawn by one horse; hansom; hackney coach.

8. Machinery. a horizontal arm, weighted at each end, that pivots about the screw of a press so that when the screw is lowered the momentum of the fly will increase the force of the press.

9. Also called fan.  Horology. a regulating device for chime and striking mechanisms, consisting of an arrangement of vanes on a revolving axis.

10. Printing.

    1. (in some presses) the apparatus for removing the printed sheets to the delivery table.

    2. Also called flyboy.  (formerly) a printer's devil employed to remove printed sheets from a press.

11. (on a flag)

    1. the horizontal dimension of a flag as flown from a vertical staff.

    2. the end of the flag farther from the staff.

12. Also called fly loft.  Theater. flies. the space above the stage used chiefly for storing scenery and equipment.

13. Nautical. a propellerlike device streamed to rotate and transfer information on speed to a mechanical log.

verb phrase

1. fly out to be put out by hitting a fly ball that is caught by a player of the opposing team.

idioms

1. fly off the handle. handle.

2. fly blind,

   1. to operate an airplane, especially during conditions of poor visibility, relying solely on instruments for guidance.

   2. to proceed with a complex task in the absence of directions by using one's own ability to determine what procedures to follow.

3. fly in the face of, to act in defiance of (authority, custom, etc.). Also fly in the teeth of

4. go fly a kite,

   1. to put up with or get used to matters as they stand.

   2. to confine oneself to one's own affairs.

   3. to cease being a nuisance.

      If she gets mad enough she'll tell me to go fly a kite.

5. on the fly,

   1. during flight; before falling to the ground.

      to catch a baseball on the fly.

   2. hurriedly; without pausing.

      We had dinner on the fly.

6. let fly,

   1. to hurl or propel (a weapon, missile, etc.).

   2. to give free rein to an emotion.

      She let fly with a barrage of angry words.

fly ³ American  

[flahy] / flaɪ /

adjective

flyer, flyest

1. Slang. stylish, attractive, sophisticated, etc..

   She put on silver stilettos, her flyest outfit, and plenty of bling, ready to party till dawn.

2. British Slang. aware and worldly; clever; smart.

   Adults generally found him sly and conniving, but his teenage followers were convinced he was fly.

3. British Slang. dexterous; agile; nimble.

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fly ¹ British  

/ flaɪ /

adjective

1. knowing and sharp; smart

2. furtive or sneaky

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noun

1. in secret; sneakily

fly ² British  

/ flaɪ /

noun

1. any dipterous insect, esp the housefly, characterized by active flight See also horsefly blowfly tsetse fly crane fly

2. any of various similar but unrelated insects, such as the caddis fly, firefly, dragonfly, and chalcid fly

3. angling a lure made from a fish-hook dressed with feathers, tinsel, etc, to resemble any of various flies or nymphs: used in fly-fishing See also dry fly wet fly

4. (in southern Africa) an area that is infested with the tsetse fly

5. slang to drink alone

6. See amber

7. informal a slight flaw that detracts from value, completeness, or enjoyment

8. a person who watches others, while not being noticed himself or herself

9. informal he is no fool

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fly ³ British  

/ flaɪ /

verb

1. (intr) (of birds, aircraft, etc) to move through the air in a controlled manner using aerodynamic forces

2. to travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft

3. to operate (an aircraft or spacecraft)

4. to float, flutter, or be displayed in the air or cause to float, etc, in this way

   to fly a kite

   they flew the flag

5. to transport or be transported by or through the air by aircraft, wind, etc

6. (intr) to move or be moved very quickly, forcibly, or suddenly

   she came flying towards me

   the door flew open

7. (intr) to pass swiftly

   time flies

8. to escape from (an enemy, place, etc); flee

   he flew the country

9. (intr; may be foll by at or upon) to attack a person

10. (intr) to have a sudden outburst

    he flew into a rage again

11. (intr) (of money, etc) to vanish rapidly

12. (tr) falconry (of hawks) to fly at (quarry) in attack

    peregrines fly rooks

13. (tr) theatre to suspend (scenery) above the stage so that it may be lowered into view

14. 1. to procure money by an accommodation bill

    2. to release information or take a step in order to test public opinion

15. informal

    1. to have a high aim

    2. to prosper or flourish

16. See face

17. informal to lose one's temper

18. informal to leave suddenly

19. informal go away

20. informal

    1. to lose one's temper (with a person)

       she really let fly at him

    2. to shoot or throw (an object)

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noun

1. Also called: fly front.  (often plural) a closure that conceals a zip, buttons, or other fastening, by having one side overlapping, as on trousers

2. Also called: fly sheet. 

   1. a flap forming the entrance to a tent

   2. a piece of canvas drawn over the ridgepole of a tent to form an outer roof

3. a small air brake used to control the chiming of large clocks

4. the horizontal weighted arm of a fly press

5. 1. the outer edge of a flag

   2. the distance from the outer edge of a flag to the staff Compare hoist

6. a light one-horse covered carriage formerly let out on hire

7. an attempt

   I'll give it a fly

8. printing

   1. a device for transferring printed sheets from the press to a flat pile

   2. Also called: flyhand.  a person who collects and stacks printed matter from a printing press

   3. a piece of paper folded once to make four pages, with printing only on the first page

9. (plural) theatre the space above the stage out of view of the audience, used for storing scenery, etc

10. rare the act of flying

fly Scientific  

/ flī /

1. Any of numerous insects of the order Diptera, having one pair of wings and large compound eyes. Flies include the houseflies, horseflies, and mosquitoes.

2. See more at dipteran

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Usage

Plural word for fly The plural form of fly is flies. Words that end with a -y and are preceded by a consonant are made plural by changing the -y to -ies, as in party/parties, candy/candies, and duty/duties.  This can be confusing, because words that end with a -y and are preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) are pluralized by adding an -s to the end, as in chimney/chimneys and fray/frays.

Synonym Usage

Fly, flit, flutter, hover, soar refer to moving through the air as on wings. Fly is the general term: Birds fly. Airplanes fly. To flit is to make short rapid flights from place to place: A bird flits from tree to tree. To flutter is to agitate the wings tremulously, either without flying or in flying only short distances: A young bird flutters out of a nest and in again. To hover is to linger in the air, or to move over or about something within a narrow area or space: hovering clouds; a hummingbird hovering over a blossom. To soar is to (start to) fly upward to a great height usually with little advance in any other direction, or else to (continue to) fly at a lofty height without visible movement of the wings: Above our heads an eagle was soaring.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• flyability
  noun
• flyable
  adjective
• flyless
  adjective
• nonflyable
  adjective
• reflyable
  adjective
• unflyable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flies
  plural

Participles

• flying
  present
• flied
  past
• flown
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fly
  simple
• flies
  simple
• have flied
  perfect
• have flown
  perfect
• has flied
  perfect
• has flown
  perfect
• am flying
  progressive
• are flying
  progressive
• is flying
  progressive
• have been flying
  perfect progressive
• has been flying
  perfect progressive

Past

• flew
  simple
• flied
  simple
• had flied
  perfect
• had flown
  perfect
• was flying
  progressive
• were flying
  progressive
• had been flying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fly
  simple
• will have flied
  perfect
• will have flown
  perfect
• will be flying
  progressive
• will have been flying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fly¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English flīe, Old English flēoge, flȳge; cognate with Middle Dutch vliege ( Dutch vlieg ), Old High German flioga ( German Fliege ); akin to fly ²

Origin of fly²

First recorded before 900; Middle English flīen, Old English flēogan; cognate with Old High German fliogan, German fliegen, Old Norse fljuga

Origin of fly³

First recorded in 1805–15; perhaps special use of fly ²

Explanation

Fly describes moving through the air, like birds that fly in the sky, or getting something accepted, like your silly excuse that's not going to fly with your history teacher. Fly means "move through the air with wings," and it describes the movement of birds, airplanes, kites, and other things that float or move of their own accord above the ground. There are many other meanings of fly, including a buzzing insect with wings, a baseball hit high across a field, and the zipper on a pair of pants. As an adjective, fly means cool, though there's no guarantee it's still fly to use it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fly flies flyer flyest flew flied flown flying

It gives him the ability to fly and to manifest objects at will, most often a protective green bubble, but also a bottle opener and a $10 bill.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The two had planned to fly down from Toronto, rent a car and stay a week to watch the launch, likely spending "thousands of dollars".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

So it goes, even when Hal uses his ring to zip into the sky at supersonic speed from California to Rushville, Nebraska, leaving John to fly coach and rent a car to meet him there.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

“It is unconscionable that aircrew and passengers were allowed to fly in that aircraft at that particular moment, ignorant of the danger they were in.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

But at my words she would fly into a passion.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

“As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

"This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the court's ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed," she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The carcass of a four-month-old calf, swarming with flies, lay half-devoured by hyenas.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

One cannot walk through the area, which is mostly a warehouse district surrounded by homes, without swatting away countless flies, both big and small, including black, blue and green ones.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

As the afternoon flies by, Parker’s expression goes from eager, hopeful puppy to sad, dejected old dog.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

A flyer featuring a pink background was the top Instagram post on California state superintendent candidate Sonja Shaw’s page on Saturday morning.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

By early February of that year, the company was days away from announcing its new plan to car dealers, including a fax-based marketing plan and promotional flyer, ready for final approval.

From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2026

The bloc lets diplomats rack up frequent flyer miles, and politicians pose for pictures with other leaders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

Now, all it takes is for a content page to drop a flyer and poof: a crowd that can swallow the park whole.

From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026

Jane gave me a flyer for the town poultry show too—it’s less than a week away!

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

It’s the flyest — all the young ballers are in there.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025

She told her fellow graduates and their families that they were “the flyest class ever to do it.”

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2023

Unlike her fellow Jersey teens who insist that superheroes aren’t cool, Kamala Khan, the heroine of Marvel’s upcoming Ms. Marvel series, thinks capes are the flyest thing in the world.

From The Verge ● Mar. 15, 2022

In denim overalls, a matching jacket and red cap, he cruises out on what looks like the concert platform of the flyest club in town.

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2021

The weird-looking dude, Lu, was decked out in the flyest gear.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds

Fittingly, he flew out for the final out and went 0 for 4 on Thursday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"When we won, this perfect V of geese flew right over our heads and over the clubhouse."

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The pair flew from Cadiz, where they were on vacation, to Santander, near the path of the eclipse, before driving up Picón Blanco to get above cloud level.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

A surreptitious airport catering truck secretly shuttled Trump to a waiting military plane, which flew him out instead.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Not taking time to open the gate, I flew over the rail fence and ran to the store.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Max Muncy popped out and Kyle Tucker, back in the lineup after exiting Monday’s game because of back spasms, flied out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

Bryce Teodosio flied out to Kyle Tucker in right field to end the game.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026

That cut the Guardians’ lead to three runs before Will Smith flied out to deep center to end it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

He struck out in his next trip to the plate, then flied out to left in the fifth inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025

The first man up flied out to center, and the next man was thrown out at first.

From Frank Merriwell at Yale by Burt L. Standish

She wasn’t about to bungle the sighting for her client, a photographer who’d flown to Africa for this exact moment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The room was on the 15th floor or something, and I guess the bird had flown into the glass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

“But they did not say he was somewhere he was not, and within hours officials revealed that he had been flown to a military facility in Nebraska.”

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Between September 2025 and June, 246 scholarship recipients from Gaza were flown to Italy and San Marino in a series of evacuations through Italy's "IUPALS" program for Palestinian students, according to the foreign ministry.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

“Ay! There’s some of the birds flown from the cages. The guns have been going since dark, about. You’ll hear one presently.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

“Prayers to all of our friends in Hawaii & crews flying to/from the islands!” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

It said the captain's initial test produced a result requiring "confirmatory testing", external and that both pilots had been removed from flying duties pending the inquiry.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

For Leon Berkers, whose restaurant boat has been stuck in the mud for more than a month, adaptation has so far meant improvising fixes to keep "pots and pans from flying around."

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

By keeping the action and themes largely Earthbound and removing the interstellar glamour associated with flying supes and suits, “Lanterns” reignites our consideration of a superhero long written off in the live-action realm.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Invisible sparks are flying everywhere, and I don’t want to get burned.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• circle
• climb
• cross
• drift
• float
• flutter
• glide
• operate
• pilot
• reach
• rush
• sail
• shoot
• speed
• swoop
• take off
• travel