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FLEET Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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View synonyms for fleet

fleet

1

[ fleet ]

noun

  1. the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.
  2. the largest organization of warships under the command of a single officer.
  3. a number of naval vessels or vessels carrying armed crew members.
  4. a large group of ships, airplanes, trucks, etc., operated by a single company or under the same ownership:

    He owns a fleet of cabs.

  5. a large group of airplanes, automobiles, etc., moving or operating together.


fleet

2

[ fleet ]

adjective

fleeter, fleetest.
  1. to be fleet of foot;

    a fleet horse.

verb (used without object)

  1. to move swiftly; fly.
  2. Nautical. to change position; shift.
  3. Archaic.
    1. to glide along like a stream.
    2. to fade; vanish.
  4. Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.

verb (used with object)

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

    Synonyms: beguile, hasten, speed

  2. 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.

fleet

3

[ fleet ]

noun

British Dialect.
  1. an arm of the sea; inlet.
  2. a creek; stream; watercourse.
  3. the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.

Fleet

1

/ fliːt /

noun

  1. a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer
  2. Also calledFleet 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

fleet

2

/ fliːt /

noun

  1. a number of warships organized as a tactical unit
  2. all the warships of a nation
  3. a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership
“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

fleet

3

/ fliːt /

adjective

  1. rapid in movement; swift
  2. poetic.
    fleeting; transient
“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

verb

  1. intr to move rapidly
  2. archaic.
    intr to fade away smoothly; glide
  3. tr nautical
    1. to change the position of (a hawser)
    2. to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in
    3. to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)
  4. obsolete.
    intr to float or swim
  5. obsolete.
    tr to cause (time) to pass rapidly
“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

fleet

4

/ fliːt /

noun

  1. a small coastal inlet; creek
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈfleetness, noun
  • ˈfleetly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • fleetly adverb
  • fleetness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fleet1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English flete, fleot(e), Old English flēot “bay, estuary; boat,” derivative of flēotan float ( def ); fleet 2

Origin of fleet2

First recorded in 1520–30; probably from or akin to Old Norse fljótr “quick, speedy”

Origin of fleet3

First recorded before 900; Middle English flete, Old English flēot “flowing water”; cognate with German Fliess “brook”; fleet 3def 3 is so called after the Fleet a stream, later covered and used as a sewer, near which the prison was located; fleet 1( def )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fleet1

Old English flēot ship, flowing water, from flēotan to float

Origin of fleet2

probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain

Origin of fleet3

Old English flēot flowing water; see fleet 1
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Example Sentences

Flight trackers showed the fleet circling between Encino Canyon and the north front of the fire Friday evening, as well as down into Mandeville Canyon on the eastern edge of the blaze.

"An ageing ferry fleet with lots of technical or weather-related problems has made it more difficult for people to feel that they are going to get there," he told BBC News.

From BBC

A fleet of black SUVs passed, then suddenly stopped.

Russia, which previously declined to respond to accusations that it uses a shadow fleet, has not yet commented on this incident.

From BBC

Washington is also moving to severely limit who can legally purchase Russian energy, and going after what it called Moscow's "shadow fleet" of vessels that ship oil around the world.

From BBC

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