- 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.
MS NOW’s live event asks whether journalism can build something more durable than a click or a fleeting social-media interaction.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
“The Way You Look Tonight” lasts because every element serves one idea: Beauty is fleeting, yet memory can preserve its warmth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In a city where everything can feel fleeting, Kiko Kostadinov has created something that asks you to linger long enough for a memory to form — and perhaps, eventually, become part of the next collection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
A winning percentage short of 60% over nearly four years in charge and only fleeting success in implementing a more ambitious, expansive gameplan leaves little goodwill to fall back on.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
A gleam of sun through fleeting clouds fell on his hands, which lay now upturned on his lap: they seemed to be filled with light as a cup is with water.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
