flee

[ flee ]

/ fli /

verb (used without object), fled, flee·ing.

to run away, as from danger or pursuers; take flight.

to move swiftly; fly; speed.

verb (used with object), fled, flee·ing.

to run away from (a place, person, etc.).

Words nearby flee

fledermaus, die, fledge, fledged, fledgling, fledgy, flee, fleece, fleece-vine, fleeced, fleecie, fleecy

Origin of flee

before 900; Middle English fleen, Old English flēon; cognate with Old High German flichan (German fliehen), Gothic thliuhan; compare Old English fleogan to fly¹

SYNONYMS FOR flee

3 evade, escape, avoid, shun, elude.

OTHER WORDS FROM flee

out·flee, verb (used with object), out·fled, out·flee·ing.un·flee·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flee

flea flee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flees

But he loses his backpack in the process and it stays with the cops as he flees down the walkway toward Brooklyn.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rick flees the underworld, in this case the prison, and returns to the world as a hero.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To try to find some happy ending, in a way, falsifies, flees from the reality.
Ron Rosenbaum on Hitler, Hollywood, and Quantifying Evil|William O’Connor|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the wild, killer whales vie for dominance but the subdominant animal then flees the scene and the conflict subsides.
‘Blackfish’ Director: Killer Whales Don’t Belong in Captivity|Gabriela Cowperthwaite|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

But their attempts to outrun his Secret Service detail end in disaster when Finn hits a woman and flees the scene.
‘Mad Men,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘The Americans’: Reading Prestige TV Dramas as YA Fiction|Alyssa Rosenberg|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Prophet has said: "Seek him who flees from thee; forgive him who injures thee; give to him who does not give to thee."
Letters from a Sf Teacher|Shaikh Sharfuddn Maner
Terrified, the monarch deserts his throne, takes his royal consort and flees for his life.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899|Various
He is often seen sitting or standing, but it is said the minute he is detected he drops on all fours and flees.
Birds and all Nature, Vol. V, No. 1, January 1899|Various
"It is remarkable how Mr Snaggs flees from before my face," said a neat, alert, pleasant voice from behind the three parsons.
The Matador of the Five Towns and Other Stories|Arnold Bennett
He flees from reality into the world of dreams, and envelops her with the veil of mysteriousness and divinity.
The Evolution of Love|Emil Lucka

British Dictionary definitions for flees (1 of 2)

flee¹

/ (fliː) /

verb flees, fleeing or fled

to run away from (a place, danger, etc); flyto flee the country

(intr) to run or move quickly; rush; speedshe fled to the door

Derived forms of flee

fleer, noun

Word Origin for flee

Old English flēon; related to Old Frisian fliā, Old High German fliohan, Gothic thliuhan

British Dictionary definitions for flees (2 of 2)

flee²

/ (fliː) /

verb

a Scot word for fly 1

noun

a Scot word for fly 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012