flight

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈflīt 

plural flights

often attributive

1

a

: an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings

the flight of a bee

b

: the ability to fly

flight is natural to birds

2

a

: a passing through the air or through space outside the earth's atmosphere

flight of an arrow

the flight of a rocket to the moon

b

: the distance covered in such a flight

c

: swift movement

3

a

: a trip made by or in an airplane or spacecraft

a transatlantic flight

b(1)

: a scheduled airplane trip

Our flight is at noon.

(2)

: the airplane that is making a trip

They boarded flight 109.

4

a

: a group of similar beings or objects flying through the air together

a flight of geese

b

: a number of competitors (as in a sport) grouped together on the basis of demonstrated skill or ability or for purposes of elimination contests prior to a final test

At a meet, shot putters and discus throwers are often separated into flights.

—Kristin Wolden Nitz

c

: a selection of alcoholic drinks (such as wines, beers, or whiskeys) for tasting as a group

Most of the 20 people attending the tasting were German wine collectors and they seemed almost always to prefer the most powerful wine in each flight.

—James Suckling

The tour meets in the White Labs tasting room, where you will have to ignore the siren call of the beer flights and follow your guide to the actual labs.

—Karla Peterson

5

: a brilliant, imaginative, or unrestrained exercise or display

a flight of fancy

6

a

: a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another

Her apartment is four flights up.

b

: a series (as of terraces or conveyors) resembling a flight of stairs

7

: a unit of the U.S. Air Force below a squadron

flightless

ˈflīt-ləs 

adjective

flight

2 of 3

verb

flighted; flighting; flights

transitive verb

: flush

intransitive verb

: to rise, settle, or fly in a flock

geese flighting on the marsh

flight

3 of 3

noun (2)

: an act or instance of running away

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• flying

Noun (2)

• break
• breakout
• bunk [British]
• escape
• getaway
• lam
• rout
• slip

Examples of flight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On Sunday, April 7, the 38-year-old posted a video on her Instagram Stories of herself sleeping at a Dubai airport after a five-hour flight delay. —Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024

Some airlines even used the eclipse as a selling point, offering flights along the path of totality. —Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2024

In other anecdotes, onlookers have reported birds that stop singing, crickets that stopped chirping, or bees that return to their hive, reduce their foraging, or suspend their flight during total darkness. —Geraldine Castro, WIRED, 6 Apr. 2024

The flight was arriving from Reno and headed next from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, flight records show. —Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2024

Starting at 30,000 miles The current promotion is valid for economy and premium economy flights booked by April 30 for travel between September 1 and November 30. —Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024

In February, a woman boarded an American Airlines flight from Nashville to Los Angeles without a boarding pass. —Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024

As a result, large swaths of the country could be faced with traffic jams and flight delays in the coming days, government agencies warn. —Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Apr. 2024

To assist with the procedure and with setting up the ECMO machine, flight paramedics and nurses — already familiar with ECMO — were recruited to train for the program. —Helen Ouyang, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024

Verb

Minutes later, Blake was life flighted to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada. —Tricia Despres, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024

But his primary task was to return the shuttle program to flight. —Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024

The Blazers were without Anfernee Simons, who has been flighting an illness. —Anne M. Peterson, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024

This was an important step toward returning the VSS Unity spacecraft to flight and potentially achieving commercial service later this year. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 17 Feb. 2023

At 18, Murray flighted a wedge from 78 yards inside three feet to match Bradley’s 67 and tied An (64), who two-putted for birdie ahead of him to get to 17 under. —Adam Schupak, The Arizona Republic, 15 Jan. 2024

Emirates flight 522 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) touched down almost an hour ahead of schedule. —Amanda Maile, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2023

Mental health and stress are very closely related, and bringing the nervous system from fight or flight to rest and digestion is how your best decision-making occurs. —Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2023

Mullinax was life flighted to a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, for his injuries. —Dianne Gallagher, CNN, 10 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English flyht; akin to Middle Dutch vlucht flight, Old English flēogan to fly

Noun (2)

Middle English fluht, fliht; akin to Old High German fluht flight, Old English flēon to flee

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1571, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing flight

• fight-or-flight
• flight engineer
• flight data recorder
• flight line
• flight of fancy/imagination/fantasy
• flight feather
• flight suit
• flight surgeon
• flight-test
• time-of-flight
• take flight
• put (someone) to flight
• flight path
• flight deck
• flight attendant
• flight recorder
• flight pay
• flight plan
• in-flight
• flight bag
• flight lieutenant
• white flight

Kids Definition

flight

1 of 2 noun

ˈflīt 

1

: an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings

a flight in a plane

the flight of birds

2

a

: a passing through the air or through outer space

the flight of a bullet

the flight of a rocket to the moon

b

: the distance covered in a flight

3

: a scheduled airplane trip

4

: a group of similar things flying through the air together

a flight of ducks

5

: a brilliant, imaginative, or uncontrolled exercise or display

a flight of fancy

6

: a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another

flight

2 of 2 noun

: an act or instance of running away