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flee

[ flee ]
/ fli /
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verb (used without object), fled [fled], /flɛd/, 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.).
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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”; see also fly2

OTHER WORDS FROM flee

outflee, 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. 2023

How to use flee in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flee (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 flee (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
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