- present participle of fleet.
fleeting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fleeting
Explanation
Fleeting is an adjective that describes something that happens really fast, or something that doesn’t last as long as you’d like. Driving in a car on the highway, you see a unicorn in the woods, but you only get a fleeting glimpse of it because you’re driving too fast. Bummer. Fleeting comes from the Old English word flēotan, which means “float, swim.” Like a ghost ship floating by on a foggy night, fleeting things disappear as fast as they appear. Fleeting love may last more than a moment, but it won’t stay for very long, and that’s why it’s called fleeting.
Vocabulary lists containing fleeting
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He warned that Fed hawkishness is already priced in and that dollar strength could be fleeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Researchers must effectively capture a snapshot of that fleeting moment and use the resulting particle patterns to reconstruct the properties of the quark-gluon plasma.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
That set up a field goal drive and a fleeting 3-0 lead by the visitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
John McGinn bought a bunch of fouls; Oli McBurnie battled hard in what McGinn called a "thankless task"; there were some fleeting moments when the crowd got energised and hope, or perhaps delusion, took hold.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
I concentrate hard and paint fast to keep up with the fleeting images.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
