to fly
- verb
- /flaɪ/
- He lets it fly.
- fly a flag
- fly a kite
- send dust flying
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Watch on YouTubeSo 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 stay or move on water without sinking, sometimes in the air
To make something move, for example a boat or rocket
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
- Offensive
Not reliable and likely to disappear quickly, often for dishonest reasons
A small bright green beetle from southern Europe that makes a liquid causing blisters
- Jargon
A caught fly ball that lets a player on base score while it puts the batter out
- 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
- Specialized
The use of a special rod and line to throw a small fake fly into water to catch fish
A poisonous mushroom with a bright red cap covered in white dots that grows in forests
- Specialized
A narrow high platform at the side of a stage where crew work with ropes and equipment
- Specialized
A winged insect that lives near streams and whose young live under stones in water
A small delicate insect with thin net-like wings whose young eat garden pests like aphids
A small insect with wings like a moth whose larvae live in water and build cases from sand and plants
A long thin fly with very long legs that looks like a large mosquito but does not bite
- Specialized
A South American herb with blue and white flowers and a papery round fruit
- Jargon
A fishing lure with long wings that extend past the hook to look like a small fish
An insect that eats insects, with a long beak and antennae, whose males have a curved tail like a scorpion
- Specialized
A hairy fly like a bee whose young insects make lumps under the skin of cows
- Specialized
A large fast fly that catches other insects in the air and drinks their juices
- US
A pale green fly that gives off a bad smell and whose young eat insects that harm plants
- Specialized
A small open deck above the ship's control room for steering and a better view
A winged insect like a dragonfly whose young dig small cone-shaped pits in sand to trap ants and other insects
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 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
- 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 small shrub with pairs of yellowish-white flowers and bright red berries often grown in gardens
A North American bush that loses its leaves in winter and has upright stems and pale yellow flowers
- Specialized
A narrow high platform at the side of a stage where crew use ropes to move scenery above it
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
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.