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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

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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. )

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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

Other San Diego residents have complained about sharing the city’s limited charging infrastructure with a new Waymo fleet that just launched in the region.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

The share of orders benefiting from the technology matters more than a fleet count alone.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

The wide-body jets are the oldest in Delta’s fleet, some with more than 30 years of service, and headed for retirement over the next several years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Unlike a regular post office, there is no fleet of vans ready to whisk the mail away.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

The greyhound, light and fleet, gets ahead of Jeanne and reaches the queen first.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Brayden McLaughlin, a sub-2:17 marathoner, combines training, helping coach the cross-country and track teams at Cal State East Bay and working at Fleet Feet in Pleasanton, Calif.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Scientists now estimate that approximately 2.22 million Indigenous people lived across the continent before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, potentially up to seven times the number suggested by some earlier calculations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

“As we enter this next chapter, our Fleet team remains committed to providing the service, expertise and support our clients have come to expect from Quixote,” the company wrote in an email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

In the Kerch area, the 46th Guards shared the sky with the male pilots of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.

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

The sound here builds upon the duo’s older work in two ways: It feels slightly fleeter, and more oriented toward the dance floor, and many of the lyrics have a darker tinge to them.

From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2018

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

About one minute lasted his ride upon this steed, fleeter than Polkadot at his best.

From Lonesome Town by Ethel Dorrance

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

He is just about the fastest marathoner alive, and so much faster than everyone else in the race, even if this marathon does not necessarily favor the fleetest in the field.

From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2021

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

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

From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2015

Master M'Grath, old Ireland's pride, The fleetest Saxon dogs defied, Alike to run with him or kill: His legs, once limber, now are still.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 62, January 1, 1872 by Various

“The biggest online retailers and grocers are racing ahead, building their own delivery fleets, warehouses, membership programs, and AI shopping assistants,” the companies said in their release.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

U.S. federal and local agencies are partnering with startups to deploy floating nuclear power barges and nuclear-powered cargo fleets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

The money will go towards 14 schemes across England, including new urgent care centres, ambulance fleets and upgrades to emergency departments.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Pacific Island countries with small populations have struggled to patrol millions of kilometres of Pacific Ocean to combat illegal fishing fleets from Asia and the passage of "narco subs" deployed from South America.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

He told us of a king who fought wars across the Niger by releasing fleets of birds trained to hurl arrows.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

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

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

The eventful days leading slowly, but all too surely, towards the tragedy which is too apt to follow the idyllic course of our early years, fleeted by; a too peaceful, undisturbed period had arrived.

From The Crooked Stick or Pollies's Probation by Rolf Boldrewood

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

A notice of extinct birds would be incomplete without reference to the dodo, the very existence of which had been lately questioned; so completely has it fleeted away from the earth.

From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur

“I had rather count on Aunt,” said Flora, with one of her rare and adorable smiles, which fleeted as it came.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 20 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

This is partly why those ripped-from-the-headlines streaming documentaries are so popular: They reflect stories that are buzzy but fleeting, perfect for those whose attention spans are already shot.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

By comparison, meeting with elected elites, whose fleeting power depends on the whims of the populace, reminds him all too much of his own limitations.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

He warned that Fed hawkishness is already priced in and that dollar strength could be fleeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Researchers must effectively capture a snapshot of that fleeting moment and use the resulting particle patterns to reconstruct the properties of the quark-gluon plasma.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

In that fleeting moment, Ekon had looked like someone else entirely; his face had been razor-sharp with focus, discipline.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

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