fleet

verb \ ˈflēt \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of fleet

intransitive verb

1 obsolete : drift

2 a archaic : flow

b : to fade away : vanish

[³fleet]

: to fly swiftly

clouds fleeting across the sky

transitive verb

: to cause (time) to pass usually quickly or imperceptibly

many young gentlemen … fleet the time carelessly
—William Shakespeare

Recent Examples of fleet from the Web

Fiat Chrysler said sales were up 14% in March at 216,063 vehicles, while Ford sales rose 3.5% to 243,021, driven by a 9% increase in sales to fleet buyers.

— adrienne roberts, WSJ, "U.S. Auto Sales Get Push from $80,000 Navigator," 3 Apr. 2018
Those days were fleeting, however, as the social/political/economic climate would soon take a turn for the worse, replacing hopeful optimism with bitter cynicism and ushering in the practice of pairing brown corduroys with brown shoes.

— andrew wendler, Car and Driver, "Genesis Essentia Concept: High-Tech Coupe Dreams," 29 Mar. 2018
Much of the meaning of his fleeting MU career will hinge on whether Mizzou prevails to play another day and take advantage of his improbable and at-times puzzling path to return from back surgery.

— vahe gregorian, kansascity, "Michael Porter Jr. and his father cast light on road back for Mizzou | The Kansas City Star," 15 Mar. 2018
However, the dalliance with spring is a fleeting one, as another Arctic front enters early Saturday with midwinter chill back in full force for much of next week.

— david streit, Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: Rain accompanies our two-day warm up; Arctic air regains control this weekend," 11 Jan. 2018
Though that celebrity is fleeting, and though it's tied to an outrageous (sometimes ridiculous) stunt, the team learn to revel in it.

— kevin warwick, Chicago Reader, "An epic quest to skateboard from Chicago to New York hits the screen in Shred America," 22 Mar. 2018
The answers, like the men on the show, are fleeting.

— veronica chambers, Newsweek, "'Sex and the City': Our 1999 Feature on the Show Starring Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker," 21 Mar. 2018
However, most of his canvases are temporary, ever fleeting.

— g. allen johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Artist Andy Goldsworthy’s world returns in ‘Leaning Into the Wind’," 7 Mar. 2018
Fleets, Incentives The Ram brand’s rough showing was explained in part by cutting back on deliveries to fleet customers by 44 percent last month.

— Bloomberg.com, "Detroit Pickup Sales Drop in Bad Omen for Industry's Cash Cows," 1 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of fleet

Middle English fleten, from Old English flēotan; akin to Old High German fliozzan to float, Old English flōwan to flow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

fleet

noun

Definition of fleet

1 : a number of warships under a single command; specifically : an organization of ships and aircraft under the command of a flag officer

2 : group 2a; especially : a group (as of ships, planes, or trucks) operated under unified control

See fleet defined for English-language learners

See fleet defined for kids

Examples of fleet in a Sentence

He was the commander of the Pacific fleet.
The company has a large fleet of delivery trucks.

Recent Examples of fleet from the Web

There’s a 1,000-foot gym, a fleet of public loaner bikes and yoga mats in each room.

— New York Times, "At a Denver Hotel, Art, Yoga Mats and Loaner Bikes," 7 Apr. 2018
Nancy Gardella, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, said the authority has been working hard to move people and goods with a smaller fleet, but needs to do a better job of letting people know about service disruptions.

— laura crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, "At least it’s not tourist season: Ferries to Martha’s Vineyard dogged by breakdowns," 5 Apr. 2018
More than 2,000 full-time employees work alongside a fleet of 320-pound orange robots.

— lauren zumbach, chicagotribune.com, "Robots working alongside humans in Amazon's Monee warehouse — a first for the e-commerce giant in Illinois," 29 Mar. 2018
Currently, the airline has a fleet of 11 aircraft and offers 35 weekly scheduled flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island to Bimini, Great Harbour Cay and Marsh Harbour.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Fort Lauderdale seaplane service announces new planes, more destinations," 28 Mar. 2018
Back in December 2016, when California regulators revoked the vehicle registrations for Uber’s fleet of self-driving vehicles operating in the state without the necessary permits, Ducey, a Republican, aggressively courted Uber’s testing business.

— pete bigelow, Car and Driver, "After Crash, Arizona Governor Suspends Uber Self-Driving-Vehicle Testing," 27 Mar. 2018
The project has a lot of valuable assets, including a bunch of talented engineers, a fleet of self-driving vehicles, and valuable data gathered over more than 2 million miles of real-world tests.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Why it’s time for Uber to get out of the self-driving car business," 27 Mar. 2018
But by 1968, Huizenga built the one truck into a fleet of some 40 trucks and expanded his reach from north to south as far as Key West.

— howard cohen, adam h. beasley and barry jackson, miamiherald, "H. Wayne Huizenga, billionaire entrepreneur and Miami sports icon, dies at 80 | Miami Herald," 23 Mar. 2018
Just take the Erin Express — a fleet of 10-plus buses that are set to run for three straight weekends in March, ending on St. Patrick’s Day.

— Philly.com, "St. Patrick's Day, Remy Ma, qFlix Philadelphia film fest, Opening Corks, and other great events, March 16-23," 14 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of fleet

Middle English flete, from Old English flēot ship, from flēotan

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

fleet Synonyms

Synonyms

armada, caravan, cavalcade, line, motorcade, train;

Related Words

argosy, convoy, flotilla, navy;

column, cortege (also cortège), parade, procession;

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

fleet

adjective

Definition of fleet

1 : swift in motion : nimble

2 : fleeting

—

fleetly

adverb

—

fleetness

noun

See fleet defined for English-language learners

Examples of fleet in a Sentence

a jewel thief said to be light of heart and fleet of foot

Recent Examples of fleet from the Web

Several girls cross country teams from the area are in the running for regional and state championships but locals are chasing Northern Kentucky's fleetest afoot: St. Henry in Class A, Highlands in Class 2A and Class 3A's Simon Kenton.

— marc hardin, Cincinnati.com, "St. Henry, Highlands, SK girls cross country the teams to chase in NKY," 25 Aug. 2017
While Onyewu and Elliott aren't the fleetest of foot, both are rarely out of position.

— marc narducci, Philly.com, "Union's five-game unbeaten surge built on key position changes," 19 May 2017
Yokosuka is one of the most important military ports in the Pacific, home to both the U.S. 7th Fleet and the fleet headquarters of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces, Japan's navy.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Two U.S. Aircraft Carriers Are Now Prowling the Pacific," 17 May 2017
Steve Kudla is probably known as the fleetest flavorist around McCormick and Company after his performance in a 5K race last Saturday.

— bill blewett, The Aegis, "Steve Kudla loves running and Old Bay," 25 May 2017
In fast and fleet fashion, Pohjonen zipped through the outer movements, producing a good deal of color and subtly underlining the score's jazz elements.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "Atmosphere, virtuosity in BSO program with Markus Stenz, Juho Pohjonen," 5 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of fleet

probably from ¹fleet

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1529

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

fleet Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of fleet

fast, rapid, swift, fleet, quick, speedy, hasty, expeditious mean moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity. fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves

- fast horses

and rapid to the movement itself.

- rapid current

swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

- returned the ball with one swift stroke

fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

- fleet runners

quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

- a quick wit

speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment

- speedy delivery of mail

and may also suggest unusual velocity. hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

- a hasty inspection

expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

- the expeditious handling of an order

FLEET Defined for English Language Learners

fleet

noun

Definition of fleet for English Language Learners

: a group of military ships that are controlled by one leader
: all of a country's military ships
: a group of ships or vehicles that move or work together or that are controlled or owned by one company

fleet

adjective

Definition of fleet for English Language Learners

: very fast

FLEET Defined for Kids

fleet

noun \ ˈflēt \

Definition of fleet for Students

1 : a group of warships under one commander

2 : a country's navy

3 : a group of ships or vehicles that move together or are owned by one company

a fishing fleet

a fleet of taxis

fleet

adjective

Definition of fleet for Students

fleeter; fleetest

: very swift

a fleet runner

—

fleetly

adverb

ran fleetly

Learn More about fleet

See words that rhyme with fleet Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for fleet Spanish Central: Translation of fleet Nglish: Translation of fleet for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of fleet for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fleet

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fleet

Definition of fleet

Recent Examples of fleet from the Web

Origin and Etymology of fleet

fleet

Definition of fleet

Examples of fleet in a Sentence

Recent Examples of fleet from the Web

Origin and Etymology of fleet

fleet Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Military Terms

fleet

Definition of fleet

fleetly

fleetness

Examples of fleet in a Sentence

Recent Examples of fleet from the Web

Origin and Etymology of fleet

fleet Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of fleet

Phrases Related to FLEET

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FLEET Defined for English Language Learners

fleet

Definition of fleet for English Language Learners

fleet

Definition of fleet for English Language Learners

FLEET Defined for Kids

fleet

Definition of fleet for Students

fleet

Definition of fleet for Students

fleetly

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