flying

adjective fly·ing \ ˈflī-iŋ \

Definition of flying

1 a :moving or capable of moving in the air

b :moving or made by moving rapidly

flying feet

a flying leap

c :very brief

2 :intended for ready movement or action

a flying squad car

3 :having stylized wings —used especially of livestock brand marks

4 :of or relating to the operation of aircraft

a flying club

5 :traversed or to be traversed (as in speed-record trials) after a running start

a flying kilometer

— with flying colors

:with complete or eminent success

See flying defined for English-language learners

See flying defined for kids

Examples of flying in a Sentence

a story about a flying car
a flying attempt at finishing the work

Recent Examples of flying from the Web

Airlines prefer twin-engine aircraft like the 777X and the A350, which are smaller, have more flying range, and consume less fuel per passenger, Boeing told Traveler.

— barbara peterson, CNT, "Why the Boeing 747 Is the 'Most Popular Airplane In History'," 28 July 2017
The Connecticut National Guard moved closer Wednesday toward securing its permanent flying mission with C-130 cargo planes for years into the future.

— susan haigh, courant.com, "Connecticut Guard's Flying Mission Settles In With C-130s," 26 July 2017
For the first time, AirVenture is scheduling a series of flying events at the ultralight area beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Apollo astronaut reunion set for Wisconsin's EAA AirVenture," 22 July 2017
Formula E won't be providing too much of a drain on local electrical supplies during its flying visit -- all the race cars are charged using carbon-neutral glycerine generators provided by UK firm Aquafuel.

— matthew knight, CNN, "New York ePrix: Brooklyn beckons for Formula E racers," 14 July 2017
The F-15E has conformal fuel tanks designed to extend its flying range while retaining the aircraft's aerodynamic qualities.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "U.S. F-15 Shoots Down Yet Another Iran-Made Drone," 20 June 2017
With less congested paths in the air as well as getting qualified pilots to drive the vehicles, Moore said that to expand the program responsibly, Uber has to improve its flying vehicles even beyond cars.

— ethan millman, The Denver Post, "Uber executive outlines vision for flying ride-hailing service in Denver speech," 9 June 2017
My favorite segment was about how flying fish can use their wings to escape their super-fast and efficient underwater predators called dorados.

— michael heaton, cleveland.com, "'Incredible Predators' combines entertainment and education (review)," 22 May 2017
That’s because as much as passengers hate them, most flying decisions are based on the base ticket price.

— baruch feigenbaum, Orange County Register, "Customers want cheap flights, not congressional regulation of airlines," 14 May 2017

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