fleeting

[ flee-ting ]
/ ˈfli tɪŋ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR fleeting ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"

"Little Women" may be a classic, but that doesn't mean we all know the meanings of the vocab words from the book. Can you define these words correctly and make Jo proud?
Question 1 of 10
earnest
full seriousness, as of intention or purpose.
a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.
urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of fleeting

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

OTHER WORDS FROM fleeting

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

Words nearby fleeting

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

Definition for fleeting (2 of 2)

fleet2
[ fleet ]
/ flit /

adjective, fleet·er, fleet·est.

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

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.
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.

Origin of fleet

2
before 900; Middle English fleten to be fleet, Old English flēotan to float; see float

OTHER WORDS FROM fleet

fleet·ly, adverbfleet·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to fleeting

short-lived, ephemeral, transitory, sudden, cursory, fading, momentary, passing, flying, flitting, short, evanescent, fugitive, impermanent, meteoric, temporary, volatile, fugacious

Example sentences from the Web for fleeting

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (1 of 5)

fleeting
/ (ˈfliːtɪŋ) /

adjective

rapid and transienta fleeting glimpse of the sea

Derived forms of fleeting

fleetingly, adverbfleetingness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for fleeting (2 of 5)

fleet1
/ (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)

fleet2
/ (fliːt) /

adjective

rapid in movement; swift
poetic fleeting; transient

verb

Derived forms of fleet

fleetly, 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)

fleet3
/ (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