to fly
- verb
- /flaɪ/
- He lets it fly.
- fly a flag
- fly a kite
- send dust flying
So they compromised by flying the Russian flag upside down.
- So they compromised by flying the Russian flag upside down.
- I don't care what flag you fly if it's the gay flag, the the the straight flag, the multi colored trans bisexual flag.
Examples
-
I tried to make it fly by prodding it with a stick, but it wouldn't.
Fiction book (1991) -
"The wind barreled over them, sending Emma's skirts flying up as she staggered back.
Fiction book (1990) -
We might not wanna let this fly off the building.
-
I look through the curtains, then fly out the window.
-
"You got to make it fly out the same door it flies in," she said.
Fiction book (1990) -
Lots of questions from our students flew at us thick and fast.
Academic text (2002) -
If she was driving at speed, the scarf would fly out behind her.
-
All the tarpaulins flew away.
-
Fly, Mary Poppins!
-
The children watched as the kite began to fly high in the clear blue sky.
Synonyms
To make something move, for example a boat or rocket
To stay or move on water without sinking, sometimes in the air
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
Someone does not understand an idea because it is too hard for them
- Specialized
To pilot an airplane by looking at places on the ground rather than instruments
Compounds
- Jargon
A caught fly ball that lets a player on base score while it puts the batter out
- Offensive
Not reliable and likely to disappear quickly, often for dishonest reasons
- South African
A large African fly that bites people and animals and causes sleeping sickness
A large fly with a shiny blue-green body that lays eggs on dead animals and in wounds
A small bright green beetle from southern Europe that makes a liquid causing blisters
- Specialized
The use of a special rod and line to throw a small fake fly into water to catch fish
A small insect like a moth whose young live in water and build protective cases from stones and plants
A small moth-like insect whose young live in water and build cases from pebbles and plants
A small insect with wings like a moth whose larvae live in water and build cases from sand and plants
A small moth-like insect whose young live in water and build cases from sand and plants
- Specialized
A very small wasp that lays eggs in other insects' eggs or young and helps control pests
A long thin fly with very long legs that looks like a large mosquito but does not bite
- Specialized
A fever people can catch from ticks, flies, or touching infected wild animals like rabbits
- Specialized
Large insect with a soft body and long jaws whose young live in water and are used as fishing bait
- Specialized
A North American bush with pale yellow flowers and berries eaten by birds
A winged insect like a dragonfly whose young dig small cone-shaped pits in sand to trap ants and other insects
A small shrub with pairs of yellowish-white flowers and bright red berries often grown in gardens
A poisonous mushroom with a bright red cap covered in white dots that grows in forests
A North American bush that loses its leaves in winter and has upright stems and pale yellow flowers
- Specialized
A small open deck above the ship's control room for steering and a better view
- Specialized
A narrow high platform at the side of a stage where crew use ropes to move scenery above it
- Specialized
A narrow high platform at the side of a stage where crew work with ropes and equipment
A small delicate insect with thin net-like wings whose young eat garden pests like aphids
A large tropical insect with bright colors and a long snout, once thought to give light
- Specialized
A slender insect with long legs that hangs from plants to catch other small insects
- Specialized
A wasp-like insect that lays eggs inside caterpillars so the young eat them
- Specialized
A large fast fly that catches other insects in the air and drinks their juices
- Offensive
A very revealing outfit that draws attention to the wearer's crotch area
An insect that eats insects, with a long beak and antennae, whose males have a curved tail like a scorpion
How High
Surface Forms
Etymology
Fly in 'fly a kite' comes from the same root as flight, meaning 'to move in the air', so to fly a kite or a flag is to make it go up and float in the sky.