flee

verb

ˈflē 

fled ˈfled  ; fleeing

intransitive verb

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.

c

law : to evade arrest, detention, or prosecution

2

: to pass away swiftly : vanish

mists fleeing before the rising sun

transitive verb

: to run away from

fled the scene of the accident

Many people fled the city to escape the fighting.

Synonyms of flee

• disappear
• vanish
• fade
• fly

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

Chow, Lee and Ho were prominent figures within Hong Kong’s now-defunct democracy movement, which has seen most of its leaders either jailed, fled overseas or fallen silent. — Chris Lau, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026

On top of that, the Iranian airspace was closed to all flights during the bombings and Iranians were fleeing the country. — CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Some of Robinson’s own driving — which was caught on film — resulted in his being hit with a felony charge of fleeing from officers during a dirt bike-riding outing in June. — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

There, a terrified teenage girl would be filmed fleeing before she was consumed by a blinding flash of light and then found dead, bearing unexplained marks on her body. — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English flen, from Old English flēon; akin to Old High German fliohan to flee

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing flee

• leave/flee the nest

Rhymes for flee

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he
• ki

Kids Definition

flee

verb

ˈflē 

fled ˈfled  ; fleeing

1

a

: to run away often from danger or evil : fly

b

: to run away from : shun

2

: to pass away swiftly : vanish

the mist fled before the rising sun