verb
-
to run away from (a place, danger, etc); fly
to flee the country
-
(intr) to run or move quickly; rush; speed
she fled to the door
verb
noun
Usage
What does flee mean? To flee is to run away or escape from a dangerous or otherwise negative situation.Much less commonly, flee can be used to mean to move at a fast pace. The past tense of flee is fled.Example: He was forced to flee his home as a result of the impending battle.
Other Word Forms
- fleer noun
- outflee verb (used with object)
- unfleeing adjective
Etymology
Origin of flee
First recorded before 900; Middle English fleen, Old English flēon; cognate with Old High German flichan ( German fliehen ), Gothic thliuhan; compare Old English fleogan “to fly”; fly 2
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.
Its protracted slump has only been compounded by recent risk-off sentiment amid the war in Iran, causing investors to flee speculative biotech stocks.
From Barron's
I pass the park that Mom always used to take us to, where I’ve been taking Mav to play fetch just about every day before and after school, flee through the shadows of the trees.
From Literature
She flung it back into the pond as the other serpents fled back toward the deep.
From Literature
Last week, the pope called for a ceasefire in the Middle East, saying more than a million people had been forced to flee their homes and urging the warring parties to hold talks.
From Barron's
The actor, 46, took to Instagram to announce that he and his family had fled O’ahu’s North Shore after they lost power at their property.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
