Fleet definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FLEET, in English names, denotes a flood, a creek or inlet, a bay or estuary, or a river; as in Fleet-street, North-flete, Fleet-prison.
FLEET, n. [Fleet and float seem to be allied. But whether they are formed from the root of flow, or whether the last consonant is radical, is not obvious. See Float.]
A navy or squadron of ships; a number of ships in company, whether ships of war, or of commerce. It more generally signifies ships of war.
FLEET, a. [Eng. to flit.]
1. Swift of pace; moving or able to move with rapidity; nimble; light and quick in motion, or moving with lightness and celerity; as a fleet horse or dog.
2. Moving with velocity; as fleet winds.
3. Light; superficially fruitful; or thin; not penetrating deep; as soil.
4. Skimming the surface.
FLEET, v.i.
1. To fly swiftly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance. To fleet away is to vanish.
How all the other passions fleet to air.
2. To be in a transient state.
3. to float.
FLEET, v.t.
1. to skim the surface; to pass over rapidly; as a ship that fleets the gulf.
2. To pass lightly, or in mirth and joy; as, to fleet away time. [Not used.]
3. To skim milk. [Local, in England.]
The verb in the transitive form is rarely or never used in America.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: moving very fast; "fleet of foot"; "the fleet scurrying of squirrels"; "a swift current"; "swift flight of an arrow"; "a swift runner" [syn: fleet, swift] n
1: group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
2: group of motor vehicles operating together under the same ownership
3: a group of steamships operating together under the same ownership
4: a group of warships organized as a tactical unit v
1: move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart; "The hummingbird flitted among the branches" [syn: flit, flutter, fleet, dart]
2: disappear gradually; "The pain eventually passed off" [syn: evanesce, fade, blow over, pass off, fleet, pass]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English fleten, from Old English fl?otan; akin to Old High German fliozzan to float, Old English fl?wan to flow Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. obsolete drift 2. a. archaic flow b. to fade away ; vanish 3. [fleet (III)] to fly swiftly transitive verb to cause (time) to pass usually quickly or imperceptibly II. noun Etymology: Middle English flete, from Old English fl?ot ship, from fl?otan Date: 13th century 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 2a, b; especially a group (as of ships, planes, or trucks) operated under unified control III. adjective Etymology: probably from ¹fleet Date: circa 1529 1. swift in motion ; nimble 2. evanescent, fleeting Synonyms: see fast • fleetly adverb • fleetness noun

U.S. Military Dictionary

An organization of ships, aircraft, Marine forces, and shore-based fleet activities all under the command of a commander or commander in chief who may exercise operational as well as administrative control. See also major fleet; numbered fleet.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a a number of warships under one commander-in-chief. b (prec. by the) all the warships and merchant-ships of a nation. 2 a number of ships, aircraft, buses, lorries, taxis, etc. operating together or owned by one proprietor. Phrases and idioms: Fleet Admiral see ADMIRAL. Fleet Air Arm hist. the aviation service of the Royal Navy. Etymology: OE fleot ship, shipping f. fleotan float, FLEET(5) 2. adj. poet. literary swift; nimble. Derivatives: fleetly adv. fleetness n. Etymology: prob. f. ON fljótr f. Gmc: cf. FLEET(5) 3. n. dial. 1 a creek; an inlet. 2 (the Fleet) a an underground stream running into the Thames east of Fleet St. b hist. a prison that stood near it. Phrases and idioms: Fleet Street 1 the London press. 2 British journalism or journalists. Etymology: OE fleot f. Gmc: cf. FLEET(5) 4. adj. & adv. dial. --adj. (of water) shallow. --adv. at or to a small depth (plough fleet). Etymology: orig. uncert.: perh. f. OE fleat (unrecorded), rel. to FLEET(5) 5. v.intr. archaic 1 glide away; vanish; be transitory. 2 (usu. foll. by away) (of time) pass rapidly; slip away. 3 move swiftly; fly. Etymology: OE fleotan float, swim f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, v. i. (Naut.) To move or change in position; -- said of persons; as, the crew fleeted aft.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet", v. t. (Naut.) To move or change in position; used only in special phrases; as, of fleet aft the crew. We got the long ``stick'' . . . down and ``fleeted'' aft, where it was secured. --F. T. Bullen.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, a. [Compar. Fleeter; superl. Fleetest.] [Cf. Icel. flj?tr quick. See Fleet, v. i.] 1. Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in going from place to place; nimble. In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong. --Milton. 2. Light; superficially thin; not penetrating deep, as soil. [Prov. Eng.] --Mortimer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, n. [OE. flete, fleote, AS. fle['o]t ship, fr. fle['o]tan to float, swim. See Fleet, v. i. and cf. Float.] A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, etc. Fleet captain, the senior aid of the admiral of a fleet, when a captain. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fleeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleeting.] [OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fle['o]tan to swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG. fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. flj[=o]ta to float, flow, Sw. flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. ? to sail, swim, float, Skr. plu to swim, sail. [root]84. Cf. Fleet, n. & a., Float, Pluvial, Flow.] 1. To sail; to float. [Obs.] And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet. --Spenser. 2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance. All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . . Dissolved on earth, fleet hither. --Milton. 3. (Naut.) To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; -- said of a cable or hawser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, v. t. 1. To pass over rapidly; to skin the surface of; as, a ship that fleets the gulf. --Spenser. 2. To hasten over; to cause to pass away lighty, or in mirth and joy. Many young gentlemen flock to him, and fleet the time carelessly. --Shak. 3. (Naut.) (a) To draw apart the blocks of; -- said of a tackle. --Totten. (b) To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass, as a rope or chain.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, n. [AS. fle['o]t a place where vessels float, bay, river; akin to D. vliet rill, brook, G. fliess. See Fleet, v. i.] 1. A flood; a creek or inlet; a bay or estuary; a river; -- obsolete, except as a place name, -- as Fleet Street in London. Together wove we nets to entrap the fish In floods and sedgy fleets. --Matthewes. 2. A former prison in London, which originally stood near a stream, the Fleet (now filled up). Fleet parson, a clergyman of low character, in, or in the vicinity of, the Fleet prison, who was ready to unite persons in marriage (called Fleet marriage) at any hour, without public notice, witnesses, or consent of parents.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fleet Fleet, v. t. [AS. fl[=e]t cream, fr. fle['o]tan to float. See Fleet, v. i.] To take the cream from; to skim. [Prov. Eng.] --Johnson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fleets) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A fleet is a group of ships organized to do something together, for example to fight battles or to catch fish. ...restaurants supplied by local fishing fleets. N-COUNT: usu supp N 2. A fleet of vehicles is a group of them, especially when they all belong to a particular organization or business, or when they are all going somewhere together. With its own fleet of trucks, the company delivers most orders overnight... N-COUNT: oft N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Flotilla, squadron, navy, armada, company of ships. 2. Arm of the sea, inlet, creek, cove. II. a. Swift, rapid, quick, nimble.

Moby Thesaurus

Naval Construction Battalion, RN, Royal Navy, Seabees, USN, United States Navy, age group, agile, alert, animated, argosy, armada, ball the jack, band, barrel, battalion, beguile, bevy, body, boom, bottoms, bowl along, breakneck, breeze, breeze along, brief, brigade, brisk, brush, bunch, cabal, cast, clip, clique, coast guard, cohort, cometary, company, complement, contingent, convoy, corps, coterie, covey, crew, crowd, cut along, dally, dashing, detachment, detail, disappear, division, double-quick, eagle-winged, escadrille, evanesce, evaporate, expeditious, express, faction, fade, fast, featly, flashing, flickering, flit, flotilla, fly, fly low, flying, foot, fritter, galloping, gang, go fast, graceful, group, grouping, groupment, hair-trigger, hasty, headlong, highball, hustling, idle, in-group, junta, light, light of heel, light-footed, line, lively, make good, make knots, marine, melt, melt like snow, merchant fleet, merchant marine, merchant navy, mercurial, meteoric, mob, mosquito fleet, movement, naval forces, naval militia, naval reserve, navy, neat-fingered, neat-handed, nimble, nimble-footed, nip, nit, out-group, outfit, outstrip the wind, pack, party, pass, pass away, peart, peer group, phalanx, platoon, posse, potter, pour it on, precipitate, prompt, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought, rapid, reckless, regiment, rip, running, sail, salon, scorch, set, shipping, ships, short, short and sweet, short-term, short-termed, sink, sizzle, skim, snappy, spanking, speed, speedy, spirited, sprightly, spry, squad, squadron, squander, stable, storm along, string, sure-footed, sweep, swift, task force, task group, tatter, team, tear, tear along, thunder along, tonnage, tribe, troop, troupe, vanish, vivacious, waste, whaling fleet, whisk, whiz, wile, wing, winged, zing, zip, zoom