flyer
Americannoun
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flyers
plural
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Textiles.
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a rotating device that adds twist to the slubbing or roving and winds the stock onto a spindle or bobbin in a uniform manner.
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a similar device for adding twist to yarn.
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noun
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a person or thing that flies or moves very fast
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an aviator or pilot
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informal a long flying leap; bound
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a fast-moving machine part, esp one having periodic motion
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a rectangular step in a straight flight of stairs Compare winder
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athletics an informal word for flying start
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a speculative business transaction
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a small handbill
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of flyer
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at fly 2, -er 1
Explanation
A flyer can be something or someone that flies on a plane, but another meaning is a handbill or advertising sheet handed out to people on the street. Because it's designed to go far, it gained the name flyer. As far back as the 15th Century, Middle English used the word flyer to refer to something that travels quickly through the air, generally a bird or projectile. The connection with a person came about later, when air travel became more common. If you are a frequent flyer, you travel a lot. If you frequently post flyers, maybe you're in a band. Note: it doesn't matter if you spell the word flyer or "flier," as both are correct, but don't use both in one piece of writing.
Vocabulary lists containing flyer
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.
See Examples For:
One pivotal moment comes when Mckenna Grace’s punk-singer character hands Tommy a charmingly Xeroxed flyer to a warehouse gig and gives out her phone number rather than a Snapchat handle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
You’ve made so much money in this long bull market, why not take a flyer here and there?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
By early February of that year, the company was days away from announcing its new plan to car dealers, including a fax-based marketing plan and promotional flyer, ready for final approval.
From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2026
Now, all it takes is for a content page to drop a flyer and poof: a crowd that can swallow the park whole.
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026
“Jonah, I didn’t want to bring this up in front of Katherine, but we got this flyer in the mail today.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Delta and United have been among the pioneers of segmentation in economy, and they’ve also focused on attracting richer flyers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The event was advertised almost exclusively offline, with flyers wheatpasted to construction scaffolding and guidebooks available at independent bookstores.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Fish-shaped signboards decorated street corners, and flyers in shop windows advertised an upcoming “trout parade.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Potential recruits left the tent with flyers advertising signing bonuses of up to $60,000 and salaries starting at $50,741, which can climb as high as $110,563.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Night after night, the three boys left the flyers in apartment buildings, mailboxes, telephone booths, and other public places.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
