fly 1 of 2

verb

ˈflī How to pronounce fly (audio)
Definition of flynext
1
as in to hover
to move through the air with or as if with outstretched wings the Wright brothers realized mankind's age-old wish to fly

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2
as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation you must fly to safety immediately

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to travel
to proceed or move quickly flew down the concourse to catch his flight

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4
as in to flee
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening no one in the movies ever thinks to fly from the ax murderer and immediately call the police

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5
as in to disappear
to cease to be visible the morning mist had flown, and a sparkling sea lay before us

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6
as in to pass
to withstand scrutiny and gain acceptance or approval the familiar "Because I said so!" is a reason that won't fly with most teenagers

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fly

2 of 2

noun

as in canvas

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fly
Verb
Has a county government spent any tax dollars recently on flying refugees from Texas to Connecticut? — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026 In the meantime, the wounds of the last mayoral election have been ripped open, with accusations flying from both sides that contribute to the divisiveness permeating all levels of politics, including those closest to home. — Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Noun
Machines can perform on-the-fly welding of current-collector disks at up to 120 cells per minute. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026 Fortunately, the large chunk of fly-away carbon-fiber foil tomahawked past the boat and was nowhere close to the French crew. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fly
  1. hover
  2. escape
  3. travel
  4. flee
  5. disappear
  6. pass
  7. canvas
  8. glide
Verb
  • Inspectors observed around 6 flies hovering at and below a prep sink.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But things went sideways when the drone hovered above Austen’s pool and dropped the package into the water.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of hover
Verb
  • Nuclear Children follows 18-year-old Isla Sparrow who, after the death of her father in a submarine accident, hopes to escape her grieving family and flee to university.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Messick escaped further damage by striking out Jose Siri and getting Campero to pop out.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of escape
Verb
  • The fact a majority of them belong to people who traveled from another country and the conditions of the desert itself both complicate efforts to identify remains, therefore hindering missing persons cases, experts say.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Her campaign’s door-knockers travel with a letter from Bohannan introducing herself.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of travel
Verb
  • Crews struggled to contain a large wildfire near Reno, Nevada, that has forced thousands of people to flee their homes, destroyed structures and caused multiple injuries.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • More than a thousand people were forced to flee from a Croatian holiday resort last week, while hundreds more were evacuated from villages in western Germany and southwest France.
    — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of flee
Verb
  • Up to half of the more than 200,000 mountain glaciers — vast, slow moving rivers of ice that creep across the world’s peaks — are expected to disappear by the end of this century, even if ambitious climate goals are met.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Among the habitats Steinbach filmed are tidal floodplain forests, a landscape type that has largely disappeared in Europe.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of disappear
Verb
  • Senior quarterback Brady Cloherty threw a whopping seven TD passes after the Caravan (1-1) faced a 30-point hole in the second quarter.
    — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • From the moment Billie learns about Sophie-Rose, the teenager who inherited her legendary fake ID after it was already passed down to multiple other Gen-Z blondes, she’s obsessed.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of pass
Noun
  • Repetitive motifs in various shapes were her trademark, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations in all their vibrant, psychedelic glory.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The current seller has retained much of the original design while presenting the penthouse as a potential canvas for renovation, according to the Christie’s representative.
    — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of canvas
Verb
  • There are lots of brands that have worked to give us beautiful soft mattes that glide onto lids and don’t feel patchy or heavy like their previous counterparts.
    — Elle Turner, Glamour, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The way Brooks stomped, or glided, or moseyed into the end zone will be forgotten.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of glide

Phrases Containing fly

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fluxing
fly
fly at
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Cite this Entry

“Fly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fly. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fly

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fly

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