overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

flight.

The act of flying; the ability to fly.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈflaɪ̯t/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈflaɪ̯t]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɐɪ̯t/[ˈflɐɪ̯t]
  1. The act of flying; the ability to fly.

    countable · uncountable
    Most birds are capable of flight.
    Bats are born with the instinct of flight.
  2. The act of flying; the ability to fly. An instance of flying.

    countable · uncountable
    The migrating birds' flight took them to Africa.
  3. The act of flying; the ability to fly. The trajectory or passage through air or space of a projectile, ship, etc.

    countable · uncountable
    The space shuttle's flight was carefully calculated long before takeoff.
  4. The act of flying; the ability to fly. A swift movement, especially as to escape; an escape.

    countable · uncountable
    The lizard's immediate flight when startled makes it hard to catch.
    The judge thought she was a flight risk.
  5. The act of flying; the ability to fly. A trip made by an aircraft, particularly one between two cities or countries, which is often planned or reserved in advance.

    countable · uncountable
    The flight to Paris leaves at 7 o'clock tonight.
    Where is the departure gate for flight 747? / Go straight down and to the right.
  6. The act of flying; the ability to fly. A trip made by an aircraft, particularly one between two cities or countries, which is often planned or reserved in advance. The aircraft used in a journey through air or space.

    countable · uncountable
    He boarded the flight to Miami.
  7. The act of flying; the ability to fly. The movement of a spinning ball through the air from the bowler to where it bounces on the pitch.

    countable · uncountable
  8. The act of flying; the ability to fly. An episode of imaginative thinking or dreaming.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    a flight of fancy; a flight of the imagination
  9. A surface that aids in an item's purpose The feathers on an arrow or dart used to help it follow an even path.

    countable · uncountable
  10. A surface that aids in an item's purpose An aerodynamic surface designed to guide a projectile's trajectory.

    countable · uncountable
  11. A surface that aids in an item's purpose The shaped material forming the thread of a screw.

    countable · uncountable
  12. A thing that flies or moves as if in flight An air force unit, ranked below a squadron, comprising several planes and their crews.

    collective · countable · uncountable
  13. A thing that flies or moves as if in flight A numbered subclass of a given class of warship, denoting incremental modernizations to the original design.

    US · countable · uncountable
  14. A thing that flies or moves as if in flight A group of birds, especially doves (pigeons), goshawks or swallows.

    collective · countable · uncountable
    a flight of swallows
  15. A thing that flies or moves as if in flight A group of angels or types of angels, e.g., seraphim, cherubim.

    collective · countable · uncountable
    The central figure in the painting is a young woman, surrounded by a flight of angels.
  16. A thing that flies or moves as if in flight A paper airplane.

    countable · uncountable
  17. A segment of a whole A series of stairs between landings.

    countable · uncountable
  18. A segment of a whole A floor which is reached by stairs or escalators.

    countable · uncountable
    How many flights up is it?
  19. A segment of a whole A level of a terrace; a series of such levels making up a terrace.

    countable · uncountable
    I'll start on the lowest flight of the terrace, you start at the top.
    The flight of terraces extended up fifty meters from the base.
  20. A segment of a whole A group of canal locks with a short distance between them

    countable · uncountable
  21. A segment of a whole A group of competitors, divided by ability or other factors.

    countable · uncountable
    The competing sprinters were divided into several flights.
  22. Several sample glasses (usually three to five) of a specific wine varietal or other variations in wine, each sample comprising a smaller amount than a full glass of wine. A comparable sample of beers or other drinks.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  23. Several sample glasses (usually three to five) of a specific wine varietal or other variations in wine, each sample comprising a smaller amount than a full glass of wine. A series of small dishes of food united by a purpose, category, etc.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
    a flight of canapés, a flight of sliders
  24. An advertising campaign of fixed length.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *pléwketi Proto-Germanic *fleuganą Proto-West Germanic *fleugan Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-West Germanic *-þi Proto-West Germanic *fluhti Old English flyht Middle English flight English flight From Middle English flight, from Old English flyht (“flight”), from Proto-West Germanic *fluhti (“flight”), derived from *fleuganą (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”), enlargement of *plew- (“flow”). Analyzable as fly + -t (variant of -th). Cognate with West Frisian flecht (“flight”), Dutch vlucht (“flight”), German Flucht (“flight”) (etymology 2).

adj/ˈflaɪ̯t/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈflaɪ̯t]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɐɪ̯t/[ˈflɐɪ̯t]
  1. Fast, swift, fleet.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *pléwketi Proto-Germanic *fleuganą Proto-West Germanic *fleugan Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-West Germanic *-þi Proto-West Germanic *fluhti Old English flyht Middle English flight English flight From Middle English flight, from Old English flyht (“flight”), from Proto-West Germanic *fluhti (“flight”), derived from *fleuganą (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”), enlargement of *plew- (“flow”). Analyzable as fly + -t (variant of -th). Cognate with West Frisian flecht (“flight”), Dutch vlucht (“flight”), German Flucht (“flight”) (etymology 2).

verb/ˈflaɪ̯t/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈflaɪ̯t]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɐɪ̯t/[ˈflɐɪ̯t]
  1. To throw the ball in such a way that it has more airtime and more spin than usual.

  2. To throw or kick something so as to send it flying with more loft or airtime than usual.

    broadly · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *pléwketi Proto-Germanic *fleuganą Proto-West Germanic *fleugan Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-West Germanic *-þi Proto-West Germanic *fluhti Old English flyht Middle English flight English flight From Middle English flight, from Old English flyht (“flight”), from Proto-West Germanic *fluhti (“flight”), derived from *fleuganą (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”), enlargement of *plew- (“flow”). Analyzable as fly + -t (variant of -th). Cognate with West Frisian flecht (“flight”), Dutch vlucht (“flight”), German Flucht (“flight”) (etymology 2).

noun/ˈflaɪ̯t/General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ˈflaɪ̯t]General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈflɐɪ̯t/[ˈflɐɪ̯t]
  1. The act of fleeing.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English, from Old English flyht, from Proto-West Germanic *fluhti, derived from *fleuhaną (“to flee”). Analyzable as flee + -t (variant of -th). Cognate with Dutch vlucht, German Flucht (etymology 1).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

flight has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

flight studioflight workshello, flight

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.