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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

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

Like Russia, Tehran operates a so-called shadow fleet of tankers, all of which are under international sanctions, to continue its oil trade.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

But, waste aside, the threat of this fleet remains.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

"Eurostar will play a full part in that growth, and our focus remains on delivering our own ambitious plans, investing in our fleet and carrying 30 million passengers a year," it said.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

With a couple of exceptions, vehicle manufacturers, fleet owners and transit agencies are hesitant to invest in hydrogen products when they don’t know whether the fuel and filling stations will be there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

But what she saw was a fleet of white triangular airships.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

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

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

Russia relocated much of its Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk earlier in the war after repeated Ukrainian strikes on its ships docked in Russian-occupied Crimea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The permanent American naval presence in the Gulf stretches back to 1971, when the U.S. took over a British base in Bahrain and later made it the headquarters of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Fleet sales were also strong, supported by robust demand from commercial and government customers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

When the victorious Greek Fleet put out to sea after the fall of Troy, many a captain, all unknowing, faced troubles as black as those he had brought down on the Trojans.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

“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

I track a fleeter game, A wilder than ye know, To lairs beyond the inmost haunt Of thrush or vireo.

From The Two Twilights by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers

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

Calderon, whose contract runs through next season, has never been the fleetest afoot, and his defense has not aged well.

From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2016

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

From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2015

But Lufra,—whom from Douglas' side Nor bribe nor threat could e'er divide, The fleetest hound in all the North,— Brave Lufra saw and darted forth.

From To Your Dog and To My Dog by Lincoln Newton Kinnicutt

Their fleets include Bombardier planes and other models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Fishing fleets often rely on a few key species to make ends meet, said Sunny Jardine, a resource and environmental economist at the University of Washington.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

At Geek+'s factory in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, which the BBC visited, fleets of the robots are built and tested before being shipped to warehouses around the world.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

That offset a 56% year-over-year drop for Ford EVs, and a 5% year-over-year revenue decline for Ford Pro, the company’s division dedicated to commercial vehicles and fleets.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

The fleets set their courses by maps and written sailing directions prepared by previous expeditions.

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

The bog ditches fleeted by at some twelve miles an hour; they were the softest, blackest, and deepest that I have ever seen, and I thanked heaven that I was not in my red coat.

From Further Experiences of an Irish R.M. by Martin Ross

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

The expression of indecision still fleeted across his face; he seemed as if weighing his thoughts in the balance, and the considerations he was revolving left him still silent.

From The House of Souls by Arthur Machen

Years, years fleeted over— I stood at her foot: The bud had grown blossom, The blossom was fruit.

From The Golden Treasury Selected from the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language and arranged with Notes by Various

Meyers proceeds to tell an astonished Ed that he’s a huge fan of his long-forgotten 1979 poetry collection entitled “Way Past Go,” the postal worker’s fleeting brush with literary success.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The average tenure of a top-flight boss now stands at about 20 months, illustrating just how fleeting life in one of football's most demanding jobs can now be.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

But the hypercompetitive nature of China’s retail environment means success can be fleeting as more brands crowd into the market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Nawaz said the US-Pakistan relationship would need such headwinds addressed to move past reliance on the possibly fleeting bonhomie of its leaders.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

Ekman calls that kind of fleeting look a micro expression, which is a very particular and critical kind of facial expression.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• armada
• flotilla
• navy
• squadron