fly.
Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
Meaning & usage
Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
Those or any similar but not closely related insect, such as a dragonfly, butterfly, or gallfly.
A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest. (also flye)
The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys).
A witch's familiar.
A parasite.
A simple dance in which the hands are shaken in the air, popular in the 1960s.
A butterfly (combination of four options).
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 *fleuganądeverb. Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ Proto-West Germanic *fleugā Old English flēoge Middle English flye English fly From Middle English fflye, flehe, flei, fleie, fley, fleye, fleȝe, flie, fliȝe, flye, vliȝe, vlye, from Old English flēge, flēoge, flīeġe (“a fly”), from Proto-West Germanic *fleugā, from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ (“a fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to flow, fly, run; to splash”), enlargement of *plew- (“to flow, fly, run”). Cognates Cognate with Scots flee, flei (“fly”), North Frisian fleeg (“fly”), Saterland Frisian Fljooge (“fly”), Alemannic German Flüüge (“fly”), Cimbrian blòiga, vlòiga (“fly”), Dutch vlieg (“fly”), German Fliege (“fly”), Low German Fleeg (“fly”), Vilamovian fłig, fłyjǵ (“fly”), Yiddish פֿליג (flig, “fly”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål flue (“fly”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish fluga (“fly”), Norwegian Nynorsk fluga, fluge, fluggu, flugu (“fly”).
To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface.
Birds of passage fly to warmer regions as it gets colder in winter.
The probe flew beyond the solar system.
To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface. To take a flight on a plane; to pilot or crew a plane.
My airline needs me to get clearance before I can fly again.
If we want to fly today, we need to leave for the airport right now.
To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface. To be in the winged adult stage.
This species flies from late summer until frost.
To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface. To be accepted, come about or work out.
Let's see if that idea flies.
You know, I just don't think that's going to fly. Why don't you spend your time on something better?
To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like.
Charles Lindbergh flew his airplane The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic ocean.
Birds fly their prey to their nest to feed it to their young.
To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like. To arrange for someone to take a flight.
We flew the kids out to see their grandparents.
To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like. To pilot a plane over a region or on a route.
This is the first time I flew the Pacific.
I'm hoping to fly the London-New York route so I can see the Big Apple again.
To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like. To complete (a goal, task, mission, etc.) while crewing an aircraft or spacecraft.
To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like. To hunt with a hawk.
To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter.
When the wind picked up, her hair flew back behind her head.
In her dance, she holds her hands above her head to fly those colorful ribbons in the air.
To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter. To operate a kite (A lightweight toy or other device... carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines).
Why don’t you go outside and fly kites, kids? The wind is just perfect.
To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter. To display (a flag) on a flagpole; to be displayed on a flagpole.
We flew the state flag under the national flag.
The flag flew at half-mast.
To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter. To display (a flag) on a flagpole; to be displayed on a flagpole. To proudly and openly make one's allegiances or viewpoint apparent.
She's really letting the freak flag fly.
Only one candidate is willing to fly the conservative flag boldly.
To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter. To display (a flag) on a flagpole; to be displayed on a flagpole. To symbolically rule over or control.
The French flag flew over Louisiana until 1803.
The king endeavored to fly his nation's flag over new territories.
To drain away or be expended quickly.
The family fortune flew in a few short years.
To drain away or be expended quickly. To vanish; to fade away.
The mist flew by noon.
To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten.
He flew down the hill on his bicycle.
It's five o'clock already. Doesn't time fly?
To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten. To move suddenly, or with violence; to carry out an act suddenly or swiftly.
a door flies open
a bomb flies apart
To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten. To proceed with great success.
His career is really flying at the moment.
One moment the company was flying high, the next it was on its knees.
To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten. To avoid or shun.
I must fly the temptation of drink.
To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten. To flee, to escape (from).
My bird flew the cage.
Fly, my lord! The enemy are upon us!
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 Old English flēogan Middle English fliender. English fly From Middle English flei, fley, fleye, fleȝhenn, flien, fliȝe, flyen, flyyn, from Old English flēgan, flēogan, from Proto-West Germanic *fleugan, from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to flow, fly, run; to splash”), enlargement of *plew- (“to flow, fly, run”). Compare Etymology 1. Cognates Cognate with Scots flei (“to fly”), Yola vlee (“to fly”), North Frisian fli, fliin, fliine, fliinj, flä, fläie, flö (“to fly”), Saterland Frisian fljoge, fljooge (“to fly”), West Frisian fleane (“to fly”), Central Franconian fleeje (“to fly”), Dutch vliegen (“to fly”), Low German flegen (“to fly”), German fliegen (“to fly”), Luxembourgish fléien (“to fly”), Vilamovian fłig (“to fly”), Yiddish פֿליִען (flien, “to fly”), Danish flyve (“to fly”), Faroese fljúgva, flúgva (“to fly”), Icelandic fljúga (“to fly”), Norwegian Bokmål fly, flyge, flyve (“to fly”), Norwegian Nynorsk fljuga, fly, flyga, flyge (“to fly”), Scanian flyğa (“to fly”), Swedish flyga (“to fly”); also Cornish lew (“rudder”), Old Irish luí (“rudder”), Welsh llyw (“rudder”), Latin pluit, pluō (“to rain”), Ancient Greek πλέω (pléō, “to sail; to float”), Lithuanian plaukti (“to swim; to float”), Bulgarian пля́скам (pljáskam, “to slap; to clap; to splash; to jabber; to blemish”), Czech pleskat (“to slap; to flap, lap”), Macedonian плеска (pleska, “to slap”), Russian плеска́ть (pleskátʹ, “to splash”), Serbo-Croatian пље̏скати, pljȅskati (“to applaud; to slap”), Ukrainian плеска́ти (pleskáty, “to splash”), Armenian լուանալ (luanal), լվալ (lval), լվանալ (lvanal, “to wash”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B plu- (“to fly”), Sanskrit प्लु (plu, “to float; to sail”). More at flee and flow.
The action of flying; flight.
An act of flying.
There was a good wind, so I decided to give the kite a fly.
A fly ball.
Ellipsis of fly route.
A piece of canvas that covers the opening at the front of a tent.
The sloping or roof part of the canvas of a tent.
A strip of material (sometimes hiding zippers or buttons) at the front of a pair of trousers, pants, underpants, bootees, etc.
Ha-ha! Your fly's undone!
The moving portion of an extendable ladder.
The free edge of a flag.
The horizontal length of a flag.
An exercise that involves wide opening and closing of the arms perpendicular to the shoulders.
The part of a weather vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.
That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.
Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.
Ellipsis of flywheel.
A type of small, light, fast horse-drawn carriage that can be hired for transportation (sometimes pluralised flys).
In a knitting machine, the piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.
The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.
A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.
The person who took the printed sheets from the press.
A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power printing press for doing the same work.
One of the upper screens of a stage in a theatre.
Waste cotton.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English flye (“flying, flight”), from Old English flyġe (“flying, flight”), from Proto-Germanic *flugiz.
To hit a fly ball; to hit a fly ball that is caught for an out. Compare ground (verb) and line (verb).
Jones flied to right in his last at-bat.
Quick-witted, alert, mentally sharp.
Clandestine, surreptitious
Well dressed, smart in appearance; in style, cool.
He's pretty fly.
Beautiful; displaying physical beauty.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; probably from the verb or noun.
A wing.
The bullet barely grazed the wild fowl's fly.
Where this word comes from
Related to German Flügel (“a wing”), Dutch vleugel (“a wing”), Swedish flygel (“a wing”).
Alternative form of vly (“swamp (in New York)”).
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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.