fleet

SayFLEET/flit/UK/fliːt/

21 meanings of fleet

1
nouncountable
A group of cars, ships, or planes that one owner uses together.
Like a whole team of trucks that all work for one company.
The company runs a fleet of delivery trucks across the city.
Their fishing fleet returned to port at sunset.
Similarconvoy, flotilla, squadron
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2
nouncountable
A country's group of warships, or many warships sailing together.
Like all of a country's navy ships acting as one big force.
The enemy fleet appeared on the horizon at dawn.
Their fleet of warships guarded the harbor.
Similarnavy, armada, flotilla, squadron
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3
adjectiveliterary
Moving very fast and lightly.
Like a deer that runs off before you can blink.
The fleet runner crossed the finish line first.
Deer are fleet and hard to catch.
Similarfast, nimble
Oppositeslow, sluggish, plodding, lumbering
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4
nouncountable
A set of things that go together as one group.
Like a matching set of tools that all belong together.
The lab connected a fleet of sensors to monitor the experiment.
The store rolled out a fleet of self-checkout machines.
Similararray, bank, battery, cluster, network
5
nouncountable
A big group of people working together in an organized way.
Like a big team of helpers all moving with one plan.
A fleet of volunteers cleaned up the park in one morning.
The mayor sent a fleet of inspectors to check the buildings.
Similararmy, team, squad, battalion, host
6
nouncountable
A group of warships larger than a squadron, under one senior commander.
Like a big group of warships that is more than just one small team.
The admiral's fleet included five large warships and many smaller ones.
A full fleet outranks a squadron in the navy's order of command.
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7
verbintransitive
To run away quickly and escape.
Like a mouse darting away the moment you come near.
The frightened birds fleet from the field whenever the dog barks.
He saw the deer fleet into the forest.
Similarflee, escape, speed, race, dash
Oppositestay, linger
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8
verbtransitive
To take the cream off the top of milk.
Like spooning the foam off the top of a warm drink.
Each morning she would fleet the milk before breakfast.
Farmers fleet the cream from the pans by hand.
Similarskim
9
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move quickly over the top of something.
Like a stone skipping fast across the top of a lake.
Dragonflies fleet over the surface of the pond.
Her gaze fleeted across the page, catching only the headlines.
Similarskim, flit, glide, sweep, fly
Oppositelinger, dwell
10
nouncountable
A place on a river where barges are tied up and kept safe.
Like a parking spot, but for boats on a river.
The barges spent the night moored at the fleet by the river.
We left our boat at the fleet near the old bridge.
Similarmooring, anchorage, berth
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11
adjectiverare
Shallow and thin, not going down very deep, like poor soil.
Like a thin layer of dirt over hard rock.
The fleet soil on the hillside could not support deep roots.
fleet Soil, and that 'tis mixed with a great quantity of Earth, Marle, Mud or Clay, &c.
1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of HusbandryHere, fleet means shallow and thin, like poor soil.
Similarshallow, thin
Oppositedeep, thick
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12
verbtransitive or intransitive
To pass time in a light, happy way so it goes by quickly.
Like enjoying a party so much that the whole evening flies by.
Let us fleet these idle hours in good company.
The revelers fleeted the long night away with dancing and wine.
Similarwhile, pass, spend, idle, beguile
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13
verbintransitive
To slowly fade away until it is gone.
Like morning fog that disappears as the day grows warm.
The morning mist fleeted as the sun rose higher.
Her hopes seemed to fleet a little more with every passing day.
Similarfade, vanish, dissolve, dwindle, evaporate
Oppositepersist, endure, linger
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14
verbintransitive
To move or shift from one position to another.
Like a box sliding across the floor when a truck turns a corner.
The crew watched the cargo fleet slowly toward the stern as the ship rolled.
In the heavy swell, the loose barrels fleeted across the deck.
Similarshift, slide, move, slip, drift
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15
verbtransitive
To move the blocks of a pulley apart so a rope can be pulled more easily.
Like sliding your hands back up a rope to get a stronger pull.
Tell the men to fleet the tackle before they haul again.
They fleeted the blocks and took a fresh pull on the line.
Similaroverhaul
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16
verbtransitive
To let a rope or chain slide down the drum of a winch.
Like letting a rope slide slowly down a spinning post.
The sailors fleeted the chain down the windlass to free more slack.
Carefully fleet the rope down the capstan so it does not jam.
Similarsurge, slip, ease
17
nouncountable
One of the small ripples in the wavy middle layer of corrugated cardboard.
Like the up-and-down ridges you feel inside the edge of a cardboard box.
Each fleet in the cardboard gives the box its strength and cushioning.
The packaging tester counted the fleets per inch to grade the board.
Similarflute
18
noundialectalcountable
A small inlet, creek, or narrow stretch of seawater reaching inland.
Like a thin finger of seawater reaching in among the land.
They moored the boat in a quiet fleet behind the marsh.
The eel-fishers worked the narrow fleets that wound through the estuary.
Similarcreek, inlet, channel, estuary
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19
verbobsoleteintransitive
To stay floating on the surface of water.
Antony: Our force by land / Hath nobly held; our sever'd navy too, / Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning most sea-like.
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”Here, fleet means float on the surface of the water.
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20
verbobsolete
To move the blocks that hold a mast's ropes when those ropes become too long.
Like moving the knot on a rope when the rope gets too long.
The rigger had to fleet the dead-eyes after the shrouds stretched in the heat.
They fleeted the dead-eyes to take up the slack in the weather rigging.
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21
nounobsoleteYorkshire
Obsolete form of flet. An old spelling for a house, floor, or large room.
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte
1686, "Lyke Wake Dirge" as printed in The Oxford Book of English Verse (1900) p. 361Here, fleet means the house or floor, an old spelling of flet.
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Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–6, 17

From Old English "flēot" meaning "ship". It is likely linked to an old root meaning "to float".

Meanings 10, 18

From Old English "flēot", meaning a bay, gulf, or the mouth of a river.

Meanings 3, 7–9, 11–16, 19–20

From Old English "flēotan", meaning "to float".