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 sense 2a
especially
: a group (as of ships, planes, or trucks) operated under unified control
fleeted; fleeting; fleets
2
[fleet entry 2]
: to fly swiftly
clouds fleeting across the sky
3
obsolete
: drift
: to cause (time) to pass usually quickly or imperceptibly
many young gentlemen … fleet the time carelessly—
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Synonyms
Examples of fleet in a Sentence
Noun
He was the commander of the Pacific fleet.
The company has a large fleet of delivery trucks.
Adjective
a jewel thief said to be light of heart and fleet of foot
Recent Examples on the WebJackie Wattles, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
But as e-commerce continues to skyrocket in this age of on-demand, having a giant fleet of trucks or cars deliver small packages to people all over the map doesn’t make the most sense anymore.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Its fleet of cargo planes will simply give it a strategic advantage.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
His eight financial entities include Westlake, Knight Insurance Group, whose unit provided the appeal bond to Trump, a commercial real estate investment firm and a provider of fleet financing for rental car companies.
—Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Projections of tenements give David Zinn’s fleet scenic design that old-timey Big Apple flavor.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Most physical evidence of taxation in ancient Egypt dates to the peak of the civilization’s recordkeeping: the New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 B.C.E.), when a fleet of tax collectors and scribes kept the Royal Treasury’s coffers fully stocked.
—Kate McMahon, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
Southwest Airlines, which operates an all-Boeing fleet, had anticipated receiving 58 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft but will instead receive 46.
—Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
There are 147 buses that are more than 10 years old, officials said, which is almost 36% of the district’s fleet.
—Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024
Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Car rental companies divested themselves of many of their fleet cars in the early days of the pandemic, and were not able to quickly replenish them due to microchip shortages and supply chain problems among automakers.
—William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2023
Or lovers-to-be, for the bulk of its cheerfully fleet 82-minute runtime — not that Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia’s fast-talking script leaves us in any doubt as to their destiny from their first sweetly awkward meet-cute.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Mar. 2023
Some diehard Romantics might object that Hough is too fleet in his approach.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022
Building in predictive alerts to provide real time coaching is what is needed, and companies like Nauto are innovating rapidly in fleet predictive intelligence looking ahead vs analyzing statistics alone.
—Cindy Gordon, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021
Additionally, Ultium Charge 360 will help support home charging and provide non-fleet drivers access to more than 60,000 public places to charge.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 16 July 2021
During the orchestral prelude, Daniel Barenboim drew a crisp, clean and fleet performance from the players.
—New York Times, 13 Mar. 2020
Burns thinks his company can compete for a share of the electric vehicle market by being quicker to adjust to technology and by targeting commercial, fleet customers who want more than what conventional trucks can supply.
—BostonGlobe.com, 8 Nov. 2019
Anto Dotcom, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2023
Songs come on the radio and instantly transport you back to a specific summer and that unforgettable vacation, fleeting romance or questionable decision that came with it.
—Joey Morona, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
While the two-day sale unfolds over July 11 and 12, our entire team is taking advantage of the limited-time fashion deals, fleeting Apple tech discounts, and rare sneaker sales that make Prime Day an unofficial holiday.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 11 July 2023
City residents and artists feel a sense of loss knowing that the odds of a momentary sighting or fleeting run-in with Ms. Ono are now even lower, and some have started writing tributes to her time in New York in blogs and small outlets.
—Anna Kodé, New York Times, 21 July 2023
The costs Afghanistan is enduring because of his edicts have given rise to persistent rumors of splits within the government—and even, this year, some notable if fleeting public evidence of internal dissent.
—Steve Coll, The New York Review of Books, 1 June 2023
No detox is open for intake in the evening or on the weekends, limiting the sometimes fleeting windows for people seeking sobriety to get help.
—Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2023
The brothers are betting that their brand of versatile, distinctive pop music will win out over clever marketing strategies and fleeting social media fads.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2023
Some have also questioned how fleeting this new role might be: As the AI advances, won’t the humans just be training themselves out of a job?
—Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2023
Noun
Shuttle’s legacy Over the course of three decades, NASA’s fleet of space shuttles flew 135 missions — launching and repairing satellites, building a permanent home for astronauts with the International Space Station and commissioning the revolutionary Hubble Space Telescope.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
But as e-commerce continues to skyrocket in this age of on-demand, having a giant fleet of trucks or cars deliver small packages to people all over the map doesn’t make the most sense anymore.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Its fleet of cargo planes will simply give it a strategic advantage.
—Justin Worland, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
His eight financial entities include Westlake, Knight Insurance Group, whose unit provided the appeal bond to Trump, a commercial real estate investment firm and a provider of fleet financing for rental car companies.
—Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Projections of tenements give David Zinn’s fleet scenic design that old-timey Big Apple flavor.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Most physical evidence of taxation in ancient Egypt dates to the peak of the civilization’s recordkeeping: the New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 B.C.E.), when a fleet of tax collectors and scribes kept the Royal Treasury’s coffers fully stocked.
—Kate McMahon, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
Southwest Airlines, which operates an all-Boeing fleet, had anticipated receiving 58 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft but will instead receive 46.
—Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
There are 147 buses that are more than 10 years old, officials said, which is almost 36% of the district’s fleet.
—Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Her star-wattage smile sets the tone for the friendly, fleet front-of-house staff.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Car rental companies divested themselves of many of their fleet cars in the early days of the pandemic, and were not able to quickly replenish them due to microchip shortages and supply chain problems among automakers.
—William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2023
Or lovers-to-be, for the bulk of its cheerfully fleet 82-minute runtime — not that Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia’s fast-talking script leaves us in any doubt as to their destiny from their first sweetly awkward meet-cute.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Mar. 2023
Some diehard Romantics might object that Hough is too fleet in his approach.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022
Building in predictive alerts to provide real time coaching is what is needed, and companies like Nauto are innovating rapidly in fleet predictive intelligence looking ahead vs analyzing statistics alone.
—Cindy Gordon, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021
Additionally, Ultium Charge 360 will help support home charging and provide non-fleet drivers access to more than 60,000 public places to charge.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 16 July 2021
During the orchestral prelude, Daniel Barenboim drew a crisp, clean and fleet performance from the players.
—New York Times, 13 Mar. 2020
Burns thinks his company can compete for a share of the electric vehicle market by being quicker to adjust to technology and by targeting commercial, fleet customers who want more than what conventional trucks can supply.
—BostonGlobe.com, 8 Nov. 2019
Verb
The economic model targets fleeting attention spans, making layered artistry challenging.
—Anto Dotcom, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2023
Songs come on the radio and instantly transport you back to a specific summer and that unforgettable vacation, fleeting romance or questionable decision that came with it.
—Joey Morona, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
While the two-day sale unfolds over July 11 and 12, our entire team is taking advantage of the limited-time fashion deals, fleeting Apple tech discounts, and rare sneaker sales that make Prime Day an unofficial holiday.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 11 July 2023
City residents and artists feel a sense of loss knowing that the odds of a momentary sighting or fleeting run-in with Ms. Ono are now even lower, and some have started writing tributes to her time in New York in blogs and small outlets.
—Anna Kodé, New York Times, 21 July 2023
The costs Afghanistan is enduring because of his edicts have given rise to persistent rumors of splits within the government—and even, this year, some notable if fleeting public evidence of internal dissent.
—Steve Coll, The New York Review of Books, 1 June 2023
No detox is open for intake in the evening or on the weekends, limiting the sometimes fleeting windows for people seeking sobriety to get help.
—Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2023
The brothers are betting that their brand of versatile, distinctive pop music will win out over clever marketing strategies and fleeting social media fads.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2023
Some have also questioned how fleeting this new role might be: As the AI advances, won’t the humans just be training themselves out of a job?
—Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fleet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English flete, from Old English flēot ship, from flēotan
Adjective
probably from fleet entry 3
Verb
Middle English fleten, from Old English flēotan; akin to Old High German fliozzan to float, Old English flōwan to flow
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
circa 1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 3
Time Traveler
The first known use of fleet was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing fleet
Dictionary Entries Near fleet
Cite this Entry
“Fleet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fleet. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
fleet
1 of 2 noun1
: a group of warships under one command
2
: a group of ships or vehicles that move together or are under one management
a fleet of taxis
a fishing fleet
fleet
2 of 2 adjective
: very swift
fleet of foot
fleetly
adverb
fleetness
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on 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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