Jump To:

• 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.

---

fleet ² American  

[fleet] / flit /

adjective

fleeter, fleetest

1. swift; rapid.

   to be fleet of foot;

   a fleet horse.

---

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.

---

fleet ¹ British  

/ fliːt /

adjective

1. rapid in movement; swift

2. poetic fleeting; transient

---

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

---

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

---

fleet ⁴ British  

/ fliːt /

noun

1. a small coastal inlet; creek

---

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

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. )

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

It has 21 such models in its fleet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

But Zelensky told the Financial Times that around half of Ukraine's fleet was spending lengthy maintenance periods in Europe.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Strathspey Railway has a fleet of steam and diesel locomotives which are run and maintained by a mix of volunteers and a small number of paid staff.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Having a fleet that meets our needs at both national and European levels... is essential," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Truman also delivered a sterner warning to Stalin: The president sent a fleet of B-29 bombers to bases in England, the same type of aircraft that had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Fleet operators acknowledged that some drivers have been apprehensive to make the leap to zero-emission trucks because the technology is new and charging can be a challenge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Central Command headquarters, some in the Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, some on each ship.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

Pacific Fleet, serves as the top official overseeing Rimpac.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Fleet was elected MP for Bolsover in July 2024, succeeding Labour stalwart Dennis Skinner.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

She was born on August 18, 1921, and her birthday just happened to be Soviet Air Fleet Day or Aviation Day.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

“Drive My Car” is a three-hour drama that seems lighter and fleeter than some two-hour ones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2022

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, Russell and Baez and Riz.

From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2016

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

Tendulkar, still fleeter of foot than some of his peers, was the man in fruitless pursuit.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2011

Sigurd ran for his life, but the fleeter hound was close upon him.

From Sigurd Our Golden Collie and Other Comrades of the Road by Katharine Lee Bates

Edney, the fleetest player on the team, had been doing this sort of thing since taking his talents from the home driveway to youth league games at Victoria Park gym in Carson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2020

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

Thirty-four of the planet’s fleetest of foot - 20 men and 14 women from the United States and eight other countries - are in the hunt.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 19, 2015

He remembers, too, that in the instructions which Cross had given, one of them on the fleetest horse, was to seize the trunk and hasten off.

From I've Been Thinking; or, the Secret of Success by Azel Stevens Roe

"This will be very challenging for households and companies that drive a lot of miles, from commuters, haulage and delivery firms, businesses with large fleets all the way through to sole traders," he added.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

That makes the issue of how many Canadair fleets are available to member states more pressing than ever.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Mom-and-pop businesses, such as small trucking fleets or family farms, are hit harder.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Kodiak’s “virtual driver” system, which is designed to be integrated across fleets, logged more than 40,000 paid driverless hours across 35 trucks during the second quarter.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

One decision stopped fleets over the whole of China.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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

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

My new-sprung joy was short-lived, and fast fleeted away.

From The War Trail The Hunt of the Wild Horse by Mayne Reid

I remember, I remember How my childhood fleeted by,— The mirth of its December And the warmth of its July.

From Familiar Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature by John Bartlett

Gaily the pure water, air’s first cousin, fleeted along the rude aqueduct, whose sides and floor it had made green with grasses.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 7 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

Alas! alas! my new-sprung joy fast fleeted away, almost as suddenly as it had arisen!

From The Boy Tar by Edward Read

Occasionally they can spark into life and show what they are capable of, but those moments have been too fleeting.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Yet any tarnish to the U.S.’s standing could be fleeting.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 6, 2026

Then come the notions and hardware, like earring posts, beads and crystal accents, that complete the transformation from fleeting flora to lasting adornment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Once the fear wears off and the road becomes home, the group develops its own rituals and routines, but maintains its connection to what came before all this, however fleeting it may be.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

He must have been busy as a beaver during his fleeting school days.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• armada
• flotilla
• navy
• squadron