flight

noun (1), often attributive

\ ˈflīt

plural flights

Definition of flight

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings the flight of a bee

b : the ability to fly flight is natural to birds

2a : a passing through the air or through space outside the earth's atmosphere flight of an arrow the flight of a rocket to the moon

b : the distance covered in such a flight

c : swift movement

3a : a trip made by or in an airplane or spacecraft a transatlantic flight

b(1) : a scheduled airplane trip Our flight is at noon.

(2) the airplane that is making a trip They boarded flight 109.

4a : a group of similar beings or objects flying through the air together a flight of geese

b : a number of competitors (as in a sport) grouped together on the basis of demonstrated skill or ability or for purposes of elimination contests prior to a final test At a meet, shot putters and discus throwers are often separated into flights.— Kristin Wolden Nitz

c : a selection of alcoholic drinks (such as wines, beers, or whiskeys) for tasting as a group Most of the 20 people attending the tasting were German wine collectors and they seemed almost always to prefer the most powerful wine in each flight.— James Suckling The tour meets in the White Labs tasting room, where you will have to ignore the siren call of the beer flights and follow your guide to the actual labs.— Karla Peterson

5 : a brilliant, imaginative, or unrestrained exercise or display a flight of fancy

6a : a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another Her apartment is four flights up.

b : a series (as of terraces or conveyors) resembling a flight of stairs

7 : a unit of the U.S. Air Force below a squadron