fled
ˈfled 
; fleeing
; fleeing
1
a
: to run away often from danger or evil : fly
The family fled from the war-torn zone.
b
: to hurry toward a place of security
Refugees fled to a neighboring country.
2
: to pass away swiftly : vanish
mists fleeing before the rising sun
: to run away from : shun
Many people fled the city to escape the fighting.
Synonyms
Examples of flee in a Sentence
The family fled from Nazi Germany to Britain in 1936.
He was accused of trying to flee the scene of the accident.
Many people fled the city to escape the fighting.
He was forced to flee the country.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jaime Neto, secretary of state for Nampula province, also said that the passengers were fleeing cholera, according to the BBC.
—
Reuters, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024
Most of the civilian population had fled the village where the battalion had based itself, leaving plenty of empty homes for the soldiers to commandeer.
—Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Advertisement People have been fleeing this once-Golden State.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
The fifth misconception is that Chinese entrepreneurs are fleeing the country as Beijing cracks down on businesses, especially on the tech sector.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2024
Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, a former security forces technical sergeant with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, allegedly fled the country following charges of possession of child pornography.
—Landon Mion, Fox News, 6 Apr. 2024
The suspect fled before officers arrived and was still at large Saturday.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Apr. 2024
The victim managed to flee with a stab wound to the shoulder, and later saw the man again at the park eyeing other male hustlers.
—Longreads, 4 Apr. 2024
Poland is home to about 1 million refugees from neighboring Ukraine, among the nearly 6 million Ukrainians who have fled since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to UN data.
—James Legge, CNN, 27 Mar. 2024
Reuters, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024
Most of the civilian population had fled the village where the battalion had based itself, leaving plenty of empty homes for the soldiers to commandeer.
—Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Advertisement People have been fleeing this once-Golden State.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
The fifth misconception is that Chinese entrepreneurs are fleeing the country as Beijing cracks down on businesses, especially on the tech sector.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2024
Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, a former security forces technical sergeant with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, allegedly fled the country following charges of possession of child pornography.
—Landon Mion, Fox News, 6 Apr. 2024
The suspect fled before officers arrived and was still at large Saturday.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Apr. 2024
The victim managed to flee with a stab wound to the shoulder, and later saw the man again at the park eyeing other male hustlers.
—Longreads, 4 Apr. 2024
Poland is home to about 1 million refugees from neighboring Ukraine, among the nearly 6 million Ukrainians who have fled since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to UN data.
—James Legge, CNN, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near flee
Cite this Entry
“Flee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flee. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
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