n. 1. A number of warships operating together under one command. 2. A number of vessels having a shared origin, purpose, or area of operation: the Japanese merchant fleet; the North Pacific fishing fleet. 3. A group of vehicles, such as taxicabs or airliners, owned or operated as a unit. [Middle English flete, from Old English flēot, from flēotan, to float; see pleu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
adj. fleet·er, fleet·est 1. Moving swiftly and nimbly. See Synonyms at fast1. 2. Fleeting; evanescent. v. fleet·ed, fleet·ing, fleets v.intr. 1. To move or pass swiftly: The summer days fleeted by. 2. To fade; vanish: beauty that is fleeting away. 3. Obsolete To flow. 4. Obsolete To drift. v.tr. 1. To cause (time) to pass quickly. 2. Nautical To alter the position of (tackle or rope, for example). [Probably from Old Norse fljōtr. V., from Middle English fleten, to drift, float, from Old English flēotan; see pleu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] fleetly adv. fleetness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.