- present participle of fleet.
fleeting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fleeting
Explanation
Fleeting is an adjective that describes something that happens really fast, or something that doesn’t last as long as you’d like. Driving in a car on the highway, you see a unicorn in the woods, but you only get a fleeting glimpse of it because you’re driving too fast. Bummer. Fleeting comes from the Old English word flēotan, which means “float, swim.” Like a ghost ship floating by on a foggy night, fleeting things disappear as fast as they appear. Fleeting love may last more than a moment, but it won’t stay for very long, and that’s why it’s called fleeting.
Vocabulary lists containing fleeting
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By increasing magnon lifetimes to as much as 18 microseconds, the researchers turned these once fleeting signals into long-lasting carriers of quantum information.
From Science Daily • Jul. 2, 2026
But media expert Mike Serazio said those prospects can be fleeting.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
Dance in L.A. frequently feels fleeting, especially as institutions continue to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic, diminishing grant opportunities and economic headwinds.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
It could be fleeting, with OpenAI and Anthropic planning their own AI-powered, mega-IPOs.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
I felt a fleeting sense of sadness, like when I’d realized how much Togbe’s death had aged Ma.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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.
