fly

fly¹ W2S2 [flaı] v past tense flew [flu:] past participle flown [fləun US floun]

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1¦(travel by plane)¦

2¦(move through the air)¦

3¦(control a plane)¦

4¦(send somebody/something by plane)¦

5¦(use air company/service)¦

6¦(cross sea by plane)¦

7¦(birds/insects)¦

8¦(move somewhere quickly)¦

9¦(kite)¦

10 (I) must fly

11¦(move freely)¦

12¦(flag)¦

13 fly the flag

14 time flies

15 fly into a rage/temper/panic etc

16 fly off the handle

17 let fly (something)

18 fly in the face of something

19¦(escape)¦

20 be flying high

21 fly the nest

22¦(plan)¦

23 fly a kite

24 go fly a kite

25 rumours/accusations etc are flying

26 fly the coop

27 fly by the seat of your pants

Phrasal verbs

　fly at somebody

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1.) ¦(TRAVEL BY PLANE)¦

to travel by plane

▪ She's flying back to the States tomorrow.

▪ Will you take the train there or fly?

▪ Maurice is nervous about flying, so he usually travels overland.

fly to

▪ The prime minister will be flying to Delhi later today for a three-day visit.

fly from/out of/in etc

▪ He was arrested at Heathrow after flying from Brussels airport.

▪ Lewis stopped off in Jamaica before flying on to Toronto.

2.) ¦(MOVE THROUGH THE AIR)¦ [I]

if a plane, spacecraft etc flies, it moves through the air

▪ The plane was attacked as it flew over restricted airspace.

3.) ¦(CONTROL A PLANE)¦ [I and T]

to be at the controls of a plane and direct it as it flies

▪ She was the first woman to fly Concorde.

▪ The pilot was instructed to fly the plane to Montreal airport.

▪ Sonny learnt to fly when he was 15.

4.) ¦(SEND SOMEBODY/SOMETHING BY PLANE)¦ [T]

to take goods or people somewhere by plane

▪ The injured boy was flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital.

fly sth into/out of etc sth

▪ US planes have been flying food and medical supplies into the area.

5.) ¦(USE AIR COMPANY/SERVICE)¦ [I and T]

to use a particular ↑airline or use a particular type of ticket when you travel by plane

▪ We usually fly economy class.

▪ Millions of passengers fly British Airways every year.

6.) ¦(CROSS SEA BY PLANE)¦ [T]

to cross a particular ocean or area of sea in a plane

▪ Who was the first person to fly the Atlantic?

7.) ¦(BIRDS/INSECTS)¦ [I]

to move through the air using wings

▪ The mother bird will feed her chicks until they are able to fly.

▪ The evening air was clouded with mosquitoes and other flying insects.

fly away/off/in etc

▪ At that moment, a wasp flew in through the open window.

▪ The little robin shook its feathers and flew away.

8.) ¦(MOVE SOMEWHERE QUICKLY)¦ [I]

a) to move somewhere quickly and suddenly

fly down/across/out of etc

▪ Ellen flew across the room and greeted her uncle with a kiss.

▪ Rachel's hand flew to her mouth.

fly open/shut

▪ The door flew open and a child rushed out.

b) to move quickly and suddenly through the air

▪ There was a loud explosion, and suddenly there was glass flying everywhere.

▪ William hit Jack on the head and sent his glasses flying .

▪ The ball bounced off the wall and went flying into the garden next door.

9.) ¦(KITE)¦ [T]

to make a ↑kite fly in the air

▪ In the park people were walking their dogs or flying their kites.

10.) (I) must fly

[i]spoken used to say that you must leave quickly

11.) ¦(MOVE FREELY)¦

to move freely and loosely in the air

▪ Harriet ran after him, her hair flying behind her.

12.) ¦(FLAG)¦ [I and T]

if a flag flies, or if you fly it, it is fixed to the top of a tall pole so that it can be easily seen

▪ After the invasion, people were forbidden to fly their national flag.

▪ The flags were flying cheerfully in the breeze.

▪ The government ordered that all flags should be flown at half mast (=halfway down the pole, in order to express public sadness at someone's death) .

13.) fly the flag

to behave in a way that shows that you are proud of your country, organization etc

14.) time flies [i]also the hours/the days etc fly

used to say that a period of time seems to pass very quickly

▪ 'Is it midnight already?' 'Well, you know what they say - time flies when you're having fun !'

time flies by

▪ The following weeks flew by, and soon it was time to leave.

15.) fly into a rage/temper/panic etc

to suddenly get extremely angry, extremely worried etc

▪ Rebecca flew into a rage when she realized no-one had been listening to her.

16.) fly off the handle informal

to suddenly get very angry

▪ Calm down, Terry - there's no need to fly off the handle.

17.) let fly (sth)

a) to suddenly start shouting angrily at someone

= ↑let loose

▪ The prisoner let fly with a torrent of abuse.

b) to suddenly attack someone, especially with bullets or a weapon that is thrown

let fly (something) with

▪ The soldiers let fly with a hail of machine-gun fire.

18.) fly in the face of sth

to be the opposite of what most people think is reasonable, sensible, or normal

▪ He likes to fly in the face of convention.

19.) ¦(ESCAPE)¦ [T] formal

to leave somewhere in order to escape

= ↑flee

▪ By the time the police arrived, the men had flown.

20.) be flying high

to be having a lot of success

▪ The architectural firm has been flying high recently.

21.) fly the nest

a) if a young bird flies the nest, it has grown old enough to look after itself and is no longer dependent on its parents

b) if a young person flies the nest, he or she moves out of their parents' home in order to live independently

▪ Now that the kids have flown the nest, I'm thinking about taking a job abroad.

22.) ¦(PLAN)¦

[i]AmE a plan that will fly will be successful and useful

▪ News is that the plan for the new hotel isn't going to fly .

23.) fly a kite

to tell people about an idea, plan etc in order to get their opinion

▪ In my latest book, I wanted to fly the kite for an unfashionable theory.

→↑kite-flying

24.) go fly a kite

AmE spoken used to tell someone to go away, stop saying something, or stop annoying you

25.) rumours/accusations etc are flying

when a lot of people are talking about something, saying someone has done something wrong etc

▪ Rumours were flying as to how the fire started.

26.) fly the coop

AmE informal to leave or escape

▪ All my children have flown the coop now.

27.) fly by the seat of your pants informal

to have to deal with a situation by guessing what to do, because you know very little about it

= ↑wing it

▪ Sometimes you'll get back and find that things have changed, so you'll be flying by the seat of your pants for a while.

→the bird has flown at ↑bird, as the crow flies at ↑crow¹ (3), sparks fly at ↑spark¹ (6)

fly at [fly at sb] phr v

to suddenly rush towards someone and try to hit them because you are very angry with them

fly ²

fly² past tense and past participle flied present participle flying third person singular flies

v

to hit a ball in baseball high into the air

fly ³

fly³ [i]plural flies

n

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1¦(insect)¦

2¦(trousers)¦

3 somebody wouldn't hurt/harm a fly

4 be dying/dropping etc like flies

5 a fly in the ointment

6 be a fly on the wall

7 there are no flies on somebody

8 on the fly

9¦(fishing)¦

10¦(baseball)¦

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[Sense: 1, 3-7, 9; Origin: Old English fleoge]

[Sense: 2, 8, 10; Date: 1800-1900; Origin: FLY¹]

1.) ¦(INSECT)¦

a small flying insect with two wings

▪ There were flies buzzing all around us.

2.) ¦(TROUSERS)¦

especially AmE also flies [plural]

BrE the part at the front of a pair of trousers which you can open

▪ He quickly did up his fly.

▪ Your flies are undone.

3.) sb wouldn't hurt/harm a fly informal

used to say that someone is very gentle and is not likely to hurt anyone

4.) be dying/dropping etc like flies informal

used to say that a lot of people are dying or becoming ill

5.) a fly in the ointment informal

the only thing that spoils something and prevents it from being successful

▪ The only fly in the ointment was Jacky.

6.) be a fly on the wall

to be able to watch what happens without other people knowing that you are there

▪ I wish I'd been a fly on the wall during that conversation.

→↑fly-on-the-wall

7.) there are no flies on sb

BrE spoken used to say that someone is not stupid and cannot be tricked

8.) on the fly

a) technical while a computer program is actually running

▪ The code is translated on the fly.

b) while dealing with a situation, rather than before dealing with it

▪ So far, policy is being made on the fly.

9.) ¦(FISHING)¦

a hook that is made to look like a fly and is used for catching fish

10.)¦(BASEBALL)¦

a fly ball

fly ⁴

fly⁴ adj

[Date: 1800-1900; Origin: Probably from FLY¹]

1.) informal very fashionable and attractive

▪ Wear something really fly for your Friday date.

2.) BrE old-fashioned clever and not easily tricked

▪ He's a bit of a fly character.