fleeting

[ flee-ting ]

/ ˈfli tɪŋ /

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adjective

passing swiftly; vanishing quickly; transient; transitory: fleeting beauty; a fleeting glance.

Nearby words

fleet ballistic missile submarine, fleet chief petty officer, fleet rate, fleet street, fleet-footed, fleeting, fleetingly, fleetly, fleetwood, flegel's disease, flegenheimer

Origin of fleeting

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at fleet², -ing²

SYNONYMS FOR fleeting

passing, flitting, flying, brief, fugitive.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fleeting ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsfleet·ing·ly, adverbfleet·ing·ness, nounun·fleet·ing, adjective

Definition for fleeting (2 of 2)

fleet

[ fleet ]

/ flit /

adjective, fleet·er, fleet·est.

swift; rapid: to be fleet of foot; a fleet horse.

verb (used without object)

to move swiftly; fly.

Nautical. to change position; shift.

Archaic.

to glide along like a stream.
to fade; vanish.

Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.

verb (used with object)

to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.

Nautical.

to move or change the position of.
to separate the blocks of (a tackle).
to lay (a rope) along a deck.

Origin of fleet

before 900; Middle English fleten to be fleet, Old English flēotan to float; see float

SYNONYMS FOR fleet

6 speed, hasten; beguile.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fleet ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsfleet·ly, adverbfleet·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fleeting

Fleeting moments are captured and stored, whether we want them to be or not.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die|Tauriq Moosa|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Part of the problem is that its prevalence was equally as fleeting as a smile itself.
The French Court’s Royal Ban on Smiles|William O’Connor|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What had seemed immutable and eternal (“With the Soviet Union forever”) turned out to be a fleeting episode.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution|Michael Zantovsky|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Those of us who live here are a fickle bunch with fleeting attention spans.
Catch Him If You Can: Reliving Banksy’s New York Invasion|Alex Suskind|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

That fleeting comedic moment exemplifies Aidy Bryant at her best.
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star|Kevin Fallon|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"You may call it that," retorted the elder man with a fleeting smile as Kirkwood slipped inside the dooryard.
The Black Bag|Louis Joseph Vance
I had a third fleeting chance, but absolutely could not grasp it.
Tales of lonely trails|Zane Grey
The cause which the flag stands for may be foolish and fleeting; the love may be calf-love, and last for a week.
A Chesterton Calendar|G. K. Chesterton
And the gifts of fortune when they come are fleeting except when they are made taut by intelligent adaptation of conditions.
Human Nature and Conduct|John Dewey
He heard faintly the howling of the dogs, and had a fleeting thought that in the mastering of his flesh the frost no longer bit.
The Turtles of Tasman|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (1 of 5)

fleeting

/ (ˈfliːtɪŋ) /

adjective

rapid and transienta fleeting glimpse of the sea

Derived Formsfleetingly, adverbfleetingness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (2 of 5)

fleet

/ (fliːt) /

noun

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

Word Origin for fleet

Old English flēot ship, flowing water, from flēotan to float

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (3 of 5)

fleet

/ (fliːt) /

adjective

rapid in movement; swift

poetic fleeting; transient

verb

(intr) to move rapidly

(intr) archaic 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)

(intr) obsolete to float or swim

(tr) obsolete to cause (time) to pass rapidly

Derived Formsfleetly, adverbfleetness, noun

Word Origin for fleet

probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (4 of 5)

fleet

/ (fliːt) /

noun

mainly Southeast English a small coastal inlet; creek

Word Origin for fleet

Old English flēot flowing water; see fleet 1

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (5 of 5)

Fleet

/ (fliːt) /

noun the Fleet

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

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

Word Origin and History for fleeting (1 of 4)

fleeting

adj.

early 13c., "fickle, shifting, unstable," from Old English fleotende "floating, drifting," later "flying, moving swiftly," from present participle of fleotan (see fleet (v.)). Meaning "existing only briefly" is from 1560s.

Word Origin and History for fleeting (1 of 4)

fleet

adj.

"swift," 1520s, but probably older than the record; apparently from or cognate with Old Norse fliotr "swift," and from the root of fleet (v.)). Related: Fleetness.

Word Origin and History for fleeting (2 of 4)

fleet

Old English fleotan "to float, drift, flow, swim, sail," later (c.1200) "to flow," from Proto-Germanic *fleut- (cf. Old Frisian fliata, Old Saxon fliotan "to flow," Old High German fliozzan "to float, flow," German flieszen "to flow," Old Norse fliota "to float, flow"), from PIE root *pleu- "to flow, run, swim" (see pluvial).

Meaning "to glide away like a stream, vanish imperceptibly" is from c.1200; hence "to fade, to vanish" (1570s). Related: Fleeted; fleeting.

Word Origin and History for fleeting (3 of 4)

fleet

Old English fleot "ship, raft, floating vessel," from fleotan "to float" (see fleet (v.)). Sense of "naval force" is pre-1200. The Old English word also meant "creek, inlet, flow of water," especially one into the Thames near Ludgate Hill, which lent its name to Fleet Street (home of newspaper and magazine houses, standing for "the English press" since 1882), Fleet prison, etc.

fleeting

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of fleeting

Definition for fleeting (2 of 2)

fleet

adjective, fleet·er, fleet·est.

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Origin of fleet

Examples from the Web for fleeting

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (1 of 5)

fleeting

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (2 of 5)

fleet

noun

Word Origin for fleet

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (3 of 5)

fleet

adjective

verb

Word Origin for fleet

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (4 of 5)

fleet

noun

Word Origin for fleet

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (5 of 5)

Fleet

noun the Fleet

Word Origin and History for fleeting (1 of 4)

fleeting

Word Origin and History for fleeting (1 of 4)

fleet

Word Origin and History for fleeting (2 of 4)

fleet

Word Origin and History for fleeting (3 of 4)

fleet