fly
verb/flaɪ/
/flaɪ/
In sense 15 flied /flaɪd/
/flaɪd/
is used for the past tense and past participle.Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they fly | /flaɪ/ /flaɪ/ |
| he / she / it flies | /flaɪz/ /flaɪz/ |
| past simple flew | /fluː/ /fluː/ |
| past participle flown | /fləʊn/ /fləʊn/ |
| -ing form flying | /ˈflaɪɪŋ/ /ˈflaɪɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to move through the air, using wings
- Penguins can't fly.
- + adv./prep. A stork flew slowly past.
- A wasp had flown in through the window.
- Geese fly south in the fall.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- high
- low
- fast
- …
- above
- over
- [intransitive] (of an aircraft or a spacecraft) to move through air or space
- fly (from A) (to B) They were on a plane flying from London to New York.
- fly (to B) (from A) Lufthansa fly to La Paz from Frankfurt.
- + adv./prep. Enemy planes fly overhead.
- to fly at the speed of sound
- The aircraft was declared fully functional and fit to fly.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- high
- low
- fast
- …
- above
- over
- [intransitive] to travel in an aircraft or a spacecraft
- Is this the first time that you've flown?
- fly (from A) (to B) I'm flying to Hong Kong tomorrow.
- fly + adv./prep. I was flying home to visit my family.
- + noun I always fly business class.
- We're flying KLM.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- high
- low
- fast
- …
- above
- over
- [transitive, intransitive] to control an aircraft, etc. in the air
- He's learning to fly.
- fly something a pilot trained to fly large passenger planes
- children flying kites
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by aira1- She's trained to fly passenger planes, not military jets.
- You'll have to fly the helicopter over some dangerous territory.
- [transitive] + adv./prep. to transport goods or passengers in a plane
- The stranded tourists were finally flown home.
- He had flowers specially flown in for the ceremony.
- Orders were given to fly the prisoners to the US.
- [transitive] fly something to move through the air for a particular distance; to travel over an ocean or area of land in an aircraft
- Some birds fly huge distances when they migrate.
- Who was the first person to fly the Atlantic?
- Only four airlines are currently allowed to fly transatlantic routes from Heathrow.
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to go or move quickly
- The train was flying along.
- She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.
- It's late—I must fly.
- [intransitive] to move suddenly and with force
- (+ adv./prep.) A large stone came flying in through the window.
- Several people were hit by flying glass.
- + adj. David gave the door a kick and it flew open.
- [intransitive] to seem to pass very quickly
- Doesn't time fly?
- fly by/past Summer has just flown by.
- [intransitive, transitive] if a flag flies, or if you fly it, it is displayed, for example on a pole (= a long piece of wood or metal)
- Flags were flying at half mast on all public buildings.
- fly something to fly the Stars and Stripes
- [intransitive] to move around freely
- hair flying in the wind
- [intransitive] to be talked about by many people
- [transitive, intransitive] fly (something) (formal) to escape from somebody/something
- Both suspects have flown the country.
- [intransitive] (especially North American English) to be successful
- It remains to be seen whether his project will fly.
- (flies, flying, flied, flied)[intransitive, transitive] fly (something) to hit a ball high into the air
of bird/insect
aircraft/spacecraft
move quickly/suddenly
of time
flag
move freely
of stories/rumours
escape
of plan
in baseball
Word Originverb Old English flēogan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vliegen and German fliegen, also to fly, the insect.
Idioms
See fly in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee fly in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishas the crow flies
- in a straight line
- The villages are no more than a mile apart as the crow flies.
the bird has flown
- the wanted person has escaped
(fly) by the seat of your pants
- (informal) to act without careful thought and without a plan that you have made in advance, hoping that you will be lucky and be successful synonym wing it
fly the coop
- (informal, especially North American English) to escape from a place
fly/show/wave the flag
- to show your support for your country, an organization or an idea to encourage or persuade others to do the same
fly high
- to be successful
- British cinema has been flying high recently, winning several coveted awards.
fly in the face of something
- to oppose or be the opposite of something that is usual or expected
- Such a proposal is flying in the face of common sense.
fly into a rage, temper, etc.
- to become suddenly very angryTopics Feelingsc2
fly a kite
- (informal) to test out public opinion on a subject
- The company is flying a kite to see if this plan provokes any interest.
fly the nest
- (of a young bird) to become able to fly and leave its nest
- (informal) (of somebody’s child) to leave home and live somewhere else
- Her children have flown the nest.
fly/go off at a tangent (British English)
(North American English go off on a tangent)
- (informal) to suddenly start saying or doing something that does not seem to be connected to what has gone before
- He never sticks to the point but keeps going off at a tangent.
- Laura’s mind went off at a tangent.
fly off the handle
- (informal) to suddenly become very angry
- He seems to fly off the handle about the slightest thing these days.
fly/go out (of) the window
- (informal) to stop existing; to disappear completely
- As soon as the kids arrived, order went out of the window.
go flying
- (informal) to fall, especially as a result of not seeing something under your feet
- Someone's going to go flying if you don't pick up these toys.
go fly a/your kite
- (North American English, informal) used to tell somebody to go away and stop annoying you or interfering
keep the flag flying
- to represent your country or organization
- Our exporters keep the flag flying at international trade exhibitions.
let fly (at somebody/something) (with something)
- to attack somebody by hitting them or speaking angrily to them
- He let fly at me with his fist.
- She let fly with a stream of abuse.
pigs might fly (British English)
(North American English when pigs fly)
- (ironic, saying) used to show that you do not believe something will ever happen
- ‘With a bit of luck, we'll be finished by the end of the year.’ ‘Yes, and pigs might fly!’
time flies
- (saying) time seems to pass very quickly
- How time flies! I've got to go now.
- Time has flown since the holiday began.
Check pronunciation:
fly