flier
Americannoun
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something that flies, as a bird or insect.
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an aviator or pilot.
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an airplane passenger, especially one who travels regularly by air.
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a person or thing that moves with great speed.
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some part of a machine having a rapid motion.
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a small handbill; circular.
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Informal. a flying jump or leap.
He took a flier off the bridge.
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Informal. a risky or speculative venture.
Our flier in uranium stocks was a disaster.
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one of the steps in a straight flight of stairs.
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a trapeze artist; aerialist.
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a silvery-green sunfish, Centrarchus macropterus, found from Virginia to Florida and through the lower Mississippi valley.
noun
Etymology
Origin of flier
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at fly 2, -er 1
Explanation
Go to a career fair and you'll be accosted with fliers or leaflet advertisements for the many companies there. Often fliers are a waste of paper because they get thrown away. Just like the paper fliers that people hand to you on the street that end up flying into a trash cans, a flier can also mean someone who flies or travels by air. You might also see the word spelled flyer, which works too. A frequent flier is a person who travels a lot. Get enough frequent flier miles on an airline and you could fly somewhere for free.
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 Dec. 22, her family was convinced something was terribly wrong, and her brother Fowlie shared a missing person flier on his Instagram, writing that she had last been seen in Koreatown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
She is a well-regarded high flier who has impressed in her roles at Panorama, Newsnight and Channel 4 News.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
At the same time, their desperation to get rid of him presented an almost risk-free opportunity for the Vikings to take a flier on a talented passer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
One day, a sympathetic nurse hands her a flier with a very alluring come-on, “Generous Salary With Benefits.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
I’m a better sailor than flier, she thinks.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
