the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.
the largest organization of warships under the command of a single officer.
a number of naval vessels or vessels carrying armed crew members.
a large group of ships, airplanes, trucks, etc., operated by a single company or under the same ownership.
He owns a fleet of cabs.
a large group of airplanes, automobiles, etc., moving or operating together.
an arm of the sea; inlet.
a creek; stream; watercourse.
the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.
rapid in movement; swift
poetic fleeting; transient
(intr) to move rapidly
archaic (intr) to fade away smoothly; glide
(tr) nautical
to change the position of (a hawser)
to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in
to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)
obsolete (intr) to float or swim
obsolete (tr) to cause (time) to pass rapidly
a number of warships organized as a tactical unit
all the warships of a nation
a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership
a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer
Also called: Fleet Prison. (formerly) a London prison, esp used for holding debtors
First recorded before 1000; Middle English flete, fleot(e), Old English flēot “bay, estuary; boat,” derivative of flēotan float ( def. ); cf. fleet 2
First recorded in 1520–30; probably from or akin to Old Norse fljótr “quick, speedy”
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. )
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The volatility in fuel prices is one of the reasons the district has continued investing in its electric fleet as a long-term cost-management strategy, the spokesperson said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
Amazon launched its first batch of low-Earth orbit satellites last year and says it now has more than 390 satellites deployed, far behind Starlink's fleet of more than 10,000.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Two of the three tankers attacked overnight were part of the shuttle fleet, scotching the perception that the voyages were relatively safe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Mombasa B is in a fleet of tankers controlled by the dominant company in the cottage industry of shuttle shippers, South Korea’s Sinokor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
It seemed that in the thirteenth century, Mongolia sent a huge fleet of ships to invade Japan.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Mikhail Zvinchuk, author of the Telegram channel "Rybar" pointed out that the Black Sea Fleet had "now shut itself in at Novorossiysk".
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Iran damaged part of the headquarters for the Navy's Fifth Fleet, which covers the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Christopher and his brother were both in the 2023 Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” starring Josh Groban.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
They targeted Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, destroying or damaging one-fifth of its ships, according to the British defense ministry, and forcing Russia to pull back its fleet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
After the war, the Norfolk Naval Base confirmed its command of the Atlantic Fleet and was appointed the headquarters of the navy’s air command.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Rams defense will try to neutralize the 44-year-old Brady, who is not as mobile as younger, fleeter quarterbacks but remains a master at moving in the pocket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2022
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
That’s why it’d make more sense for the big-hitting Bernard Pollard to start ahead of the fleeter Tom Zbikowski.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2011
Tendulkar, still fleeter of foot than some of his peers, was the man in fruitless pursuit.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2011
They all broke into a run, and, as they were younger and fleeter, they were soon at the fellow’s heels.
From The Rushton Boys at Rally Hall Or, Great Days in School and Out by Davenport, Spencer
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
Joe Lapchick’s squads in the 1950s were among the fleetest in the game, but since then only a handful of Knicks team could reasonably be described as using an up-tempo offense.
From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2016
"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
That through this lower world already thou hast sped, Ray of light the fleetest!
From An Anthology of Jugoslav Poetry; Serbian Lyrics by Various
While airlines have been reassured the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 10 will soon be in their fleets, questions linger about the 777X, said longtime aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia, who will attend Farnborough.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
If the best fleets can generate their own demand in dense markets, Uber’s aggregation value shrinks to secondary cities and overflow capacity.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
After reviewing the histories of Boeing's 757, 767, 777, 787 and 737 Max fleets - more than 400 million flight hours - he found no case in which a switch failure shut down an engine.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Jonathon Freye, the trade group’s executive director, said discount carriers are concerned about the cost and time it may take to retrofit fleets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Now contrast those events in China with what happened when fleets of exploration began to sail from politically fragmented Europe.
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
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 Rameur, E.
The old word for float: as "we fleeted down the river with our boats;" and Shakspeare makes Antony say, "Our sever'd navy too Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning most sea-like."
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
There had fleeted the happiest hours of her life.
From The Joy of Captain Ribot by Palacio Vald?s, Armando
Like gentle ghosts they fleeted along with little more than a muffled sound, for their axles turned in ball-sockets and their warning bells were silent save when touched.
From Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished A Tale of City Arab Life and Adventure by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
“It’s a fleeting thrill,” said Gordon at Schwab about chips stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
“Night Nurse” is as flirty and fleeting as a high school crush — intense enough to make an impact but staked more on possibility than actual sensation.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
But media expert Mike Serazio said those prospects can be fleeting.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Europe's deadly heatwave pushed east Sunday with hundreds of millions still sweltering across the continent despite fleeting relief from overnight storms, notably in France and Belgium.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
She even had a fleeting worry about what she ought to wear for Simon’s arrival.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
