definitions

flight

2
[ flahyt ]
/ flaɪt /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of fleeing or running away; hasty departure.

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RELATED WORDS

fly, shoot, rush, travel, dash, race, jog, sprint, bound, dump, skip, scamper, dart, jump, leap, scoot, escape, flee, depart, wane

Nearby words

flickertail, flickertail state, flied, flier, flies, flight, flight arrow, flight attendant, flight bag, flight capital, flight control

Idioms

    put to flight, to force to flee or run away; rout: She succeeded in putting the intruder to flight.
    take flight, to retreat; run away; flee: The wild animals took flight before the onrushing fire.Also take to flight.

Origin of flight

2
1150–1200; Middle English; cognate with German Flucht; akin to flee
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for take flight (1 of 2)

flight

1
/ (flaɪt) /

noun

verb

Word Origin for flight

Old English flyht; related to Middle Dutch vlucht, Old Saxon fluht

British Dictionary definitions for take flight (2 of 2)

flight

2
/ (flaɪt) /

noun

the act of fleeing or running away, as from danger
put to flight to cause to run away; rout
take flight or take to flight to run away or withdraw hastily; flee

Word Origin for flight

Old English flyht (unattested); related to Old Frisian flecht, Old High German fluht, Old Norse flōtti
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

Idioms and Phrases with take flight (1 of 2)

take flight

Also, take wing. Run away, flee, go away, as in When the militia arrived, the demonstrators took flight, or The tenant took wing before paying the rent. The first idiom derives from the earlier take one's flight, dating from the late 1300s, and was first recorded in 1435. The variant was first recorded in 1704.

Idioms and Phrases with take flight (2 of 2)

flight

In addition to the idioms beginning with flight

  • flight of fancy

also see:

  • put to flight
  • take flight
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.