flee

verb \ ˈflē \

Definition of flee

fled play \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.

2 :to pass away swiftly :vanish

mists fleeing before the rising sun

transitive verb

:to run away from :shun

Many people fled the city to escape the fighting.

See flee defined for English-language learners

See flee defined for kids

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 of flee from the Web

In recent days, thousands of Rohingya Muslims in Burma have made their way to neighboring Bangladesh, fleeing an aggressive Burmese military campaign that ravaged dozens of villages in the country’s restive state of Rakhine.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The world’s ‘most friendless people’ are under assault yet again," 31 Aug. 2017
Executives have departed for other jobs, the customer experience team fled to a former business partner and—while the website is still exists—there’s no way to sign up.

— kim bhasin, Bloomberg.com, "How a Black-Card Wannabe Went Down In Flames," 30 Aug. 2017
Police stopped the car and arrested the two people inside while the third occupant fled.

— karen kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, "3 arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in National City stabbing," 30 Aug. 2017
Alston said Sychanta tried to flee on foot along a bike path, but officers caught him and arrested him for suspected drug possession.

— rob gillies, The Seattle Times, "Montreal police arrest Laotian man on US most-wanted list," 29 Aug. 2017
The family fled abruptly with little time to gather school materials.

— dana goldstein, New York Times, "School Closings From Harvey Threaten Disruption Across Texas," 29 Aug. 2017
Some tribes fled into the wilderness to escape alcohol, but that didn’t work for long as the white population moved westward.

— Longreads, "America’s First Addiction Epidemic," 29 Aug. 2017
The camp is assisting 300 Kurdish Syrians fleeing he civil war in Syria.

— anne kniggendorf,, kansascity, "September First Friday gallery guide: 16 shows in the Crossroads and beyond," 29 Aug. 2017
Without presenting a gun, the would-be robber then fled the area empty-handed.

— andy nguyen, Burbank Leader, "Burbank man implicates himself in alleged attempted bank robbery," 24 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of flee

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

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flee Synonyms

Synonyms

dematerialize, dissolve, evanesce, evaporate, fade, disappear, fly, go (away), melt, sink, vanish

Antonyms

appear, materialize

Related Words

blank (out), clear, die (away or down or out), disperse, dissipate, dissolve, dry up; blur, dim

Near Antonyms

arrive, break out, come out, emerge, issue, loom, show up

FLEE Defined for English Language Learners

flee

verb

Definition of flee for English Language Learners

: to run away from danger
: to run away from (a place)

FLEE Defined for Kids

flee

verb \ ˈflē \

Definition of flee for Students

fled \ˈfled\; fleeing

:to run away or away from

Animals fled the fire.

Learn More about flee

See words that rhyme with flee Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for flee Spanish Central: Translation of flee Nglish: Translation of flee for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of flee for Arabic speakers

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