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• fleet
  fleet

  noun

  the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.
• Fleet
  Fleet

  noun

  a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer

fleet

¹ American  

[fleet] / flit /

noun

1. 

   the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.

2. the largest organization of warships under the command of a single officer.

3. a number of naval vessels or vessels carrying armed crew members.

4. a large group of ships, airplanes, trucks, etc., operated by a single company or under the same ownership.

   He owns a fleet of cabs.

5. a large group of airplanes, automobiles, etc., moving or operating together.

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fleet ² American  

[fleet] / flit /

adjective

fleeter, fleetest

1. swift; rapid.

   to be fleet of foot;

   a fleet horse.

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verb (used without object)

• fleets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fleeted,
  past participle,  past
• fleeting
  present participle

1. to move swiftly; fly.

2. Nautical. to change position; shift.

3. Archaic.

   1. to glide along like a stream.

   2. to fade; vanish.

4. Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.

verb (used with object)

• fleets,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fleeted,
  past participle,  past
• fleeting
  present participle

1. to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.

   Synonyms:

   beguile, hasten, speed

2. Nautical.

   1. to move or change the position of.

   2. to separate the blocks of (a tackle).

   3. to lay (a rope) along a deck.

fleet ³ American  

[fleet] / flit /

noun

British Dialect.

1. an arm of the sea; inlet.

2. a creek; stream; watercourse.

3. the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.

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fleet ¹ British  

/ fliːt /

adjective

1. rapid in movement; swift

2. poetic fleeting; transient

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verb

1. (intr) to move rapidly

2. archaic (intr) to fade away smoothly; glide

3. (tr) nautical

   1. to change the position of (a hawser)

   2. to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in

   3. to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)

4. obsolete (intr) to float or swim

5. obsolete (tr) to cause (time) to pass rapidly

fleet ² British  

/ fliːt /

noun

1. a number of warships organized as a tactical unit

2. all the warships of a nation

3. a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership

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Fleet ³ British  

/ fliːt /

noun

1. a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer

2. Also called: Fleet Prison. (formerly) a London prison, esp used for holding debtors

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fleet ⁴ British  

/ fliːt /

noun

1. a small coastal inlet; creek

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fleetness
  noun
• fleetly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• fleeting
  present
• fleeted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fleet
  simple
• fleets
  simple
• have fleeted
  perfect
• has fleeted
  perfect
• am fleeting
  progressive
• are fleeting
  progressive
• is fleeting
  progressive
• have been fleeting
  perfect progressive
• has been fleeting
  perfect progressive

Past

• fleeted
  simple
• had fleeted
  perfect
• was fleeting
  progressive
• were fleeting
  progressive
• had been fleeting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fleet
  simple
• will have fleeted
  perfect
• will be fleeting
  progressive
• will have been fleeting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of fleet¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English flete, fleot(e), Old English flēot “bay, estuary; boat,” derivative of flēotan float ( def. ); cf. fleet ²

Origin of fleet²

First recorded in 1520–30; probably from or akin to Old Norse fljótr “quick, speedy”

Origin of fleet³

First recorded before 900; Middle English flete, Old English flēot “flowing water”; cognate with German Fliess “brook”; fleet ³ def. 3 is so called after the Fleet a stream, later covered and used as a sewer, near which the prison was located; fleet ¹ ( def. )

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Explanation

A fleet is usually a large group of ships, but it can be any group of vessels like planes or cars that operate as a unit. A naval fleet is the largest formation of warships. A naval fleet at sea is like an army on land. One meaning of fleet comes from the Old English fleot, meaning “ship,” “raft,” or “floating vessel.” Although a fleet is usually a group of ships or airplanes operating under the same ownership, any group of vessels sailing together can be called a fleet, even you and your friends in a fleet of kayaks. Another meaning of fleet originates in the Old English flēotan, which means “moving swiftly.” When it’s used in that way, it’s usually in the -ing form, fleeting.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fleet Fleet fleeter fleetest fleets fleeted fleeting

Last month, a team of cyber sleuths with roots in California reported detecting a "fleet" of agents linked to Chinese tech giant Tencent seeking information from a map app.

From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2026

But he expects the company to expand its bulk-carrier fleet and secure long-term contracts in order to help protect profitability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

Find insight on Apollo’s proposed takeover of easyJet, the U.S. barge fleet and more in the latest Market Talks covering the auto and transport sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

Describing the 14 jets as "state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient", CEO Ronald Lam said they would upgrade Cathay's total fleet and "enhance connectivity at our home hub Hong Kong".

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026

“The Japanese in a predawn surprise attack have destroyed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. I repeat. The White House has confirmed that the Japanese...”

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

Born Alan Howard Frieda in London in 1951, his father was a hairdresser who owned a salon in Ealing, west London, while his grandfather had also been a Fleet Street barber.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Scientists now estimate that approximately 2.22 million Indigenous people lived across the continent before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, potentially up to seven times the number suggested by some earlier calculations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

“As we enter this next chapter, our Fleet team remains committed to providing the service, expertise and support our clients have come to expect from Quixote,” the company wrote in an email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Seventh Fleet spokesman declined to discuss details of the port visit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

I wrote to Tom Fleet, the boy who helped Gram when the snake took a snack out of her leg.

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech

She is fleeter and sharper than the old men who surround her, although she lacks their earthy humanity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

The Rams defense will try to neutralize the 44-year-old Brady, who is not as mobile as younger, fleeter quarterbacks but remains a master at moving in the pocket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2022

The sound here builds upon the duo’s older work in two ways: It feels slightly fleeter, and more oriented toward the dance floor, and many of the lyrics have a darker tinge to them.

From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2018

Something kind of similar is happening in the fleeter, more escapist Arrow and The Flash, two ongoing series on the CW based on DC Comics characters.

From Slate ● Mar. 9, 2015

In this way I got closer to the marvellous lines of the actor's face, and was enabled to read and record the subtler, fleeter shadows of his expression.

From A Son of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland

All athletic actions are essentially micro-decisions, and even the fleetest and most impulsive seeming NFL wide receiver must make feints, counter-feints, and judgments.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2022

The stagecraft by which customers who just a minute ago were getting the closest of shaves are removed isn’t the fleetest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2019

This is the fleetest, funniest and — in keeping with its adolescent protagonist — most sophomoric of the volumes translated into English thus far.

From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2015

"I'm not the fleetest of foot but I was just fast enough to get there."

From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2015

Among other minor prizes at Langwathby, a pair of garters was given to the boy who proved himself to be the fleetest runner.

From Wrestling and Wrestlers: Biographical Sketches of Celebrated Athletes of the Northern Ring; to Which is Added Notes on Bull and Badger Baiting by Sidney Gilpin

Bhattacharya said commercial fleets could provide the next breakthrough.

From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026

“The biggest online retailers and grocers are racing ahead, building their own delivery fleets, warehouses, membership programs, and AI shopping assistants,” the companies said in their release.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

Companies at the forefront of drone deliveries say they are also working to reduce the noise of their fleets.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

U.S. federal and local agencies are partnering with startups to deploy floating nuclear power barges and nuclear-powered cargo fleets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

He told us of a king who fought wars across the Niger by releasing fleets of birds trained to hurl arrows.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Another day of hiding and a night of journey had fleeted by.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

The washerwomen hailed us laughingly, and the noise of trees and water made an accompaniment to our dozing thoughts, as we fleeted down the stream.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 1 (of 25) by Andrew Lang

Like gentle ghosts they fleeted along with little more than a muffled sound, for their axles turned in ball-sockets and their warning bells were silent save when touched.

From Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished A Tale of City Arab Life and Adventure by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

A score of lustres will have fleeted Before the Ministry of Art, Though it should make an early start, Can hope to see the thing completed.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, January 28, 1914 by Sir Owen Seaman

There was something lyrical about the “dirty ship” as with the buoyancy of her cargoless holds she fleeted to the south.

From The Bonadventure A Random Journal of an Atlantic Holiday by Edmund Blunden

And that’s better than the fleeting pleasure of retaliatory pettiness, well-earned though it may be.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026

With each new discovery, researchers are gaining a clearer picture of the remarkable state of matter that dominated the universe during its first fleeting moments after the Big Bang.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026

There seems to be far less in the incident at full speed, that the hold of the shirt is more fleeting with minimal impact.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

In “Self-Portrait, Age 23,” matter is palpable, mesmerizing, intensely present—yet also fleeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

It was there in the rhythms of the long nights and the fleeting days.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

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