| fly | | |
| n. (animal) | 1. fly | two-winged insects characterized by active flight. |
| ~ diptera, order diptera | a large order of insects having a single pair of wings and sucking or piercing mouths; includes true flies and mosquitoes and gnats and crane flies. |
| ~ dipteran, dipteron, dipterous insect, two-winged insects | insects having usually a single pair of functional wings (anterior pair) with the posterior pair reduced to small knobbed structures and mouth parts adapted for sucking or lapping or piercing. |
| ~ alula, calypter | scalelike structure between the base of the wing and the halter of a two-winged fly. |
| ~ house fly, housefly, musca domestica | common fly that frequents human habitations and spreads many diseases. |
| ~ glossina, tsetse, tsetse fly, tzetze, tzetze fly | bloodsucking African fly; transmits sleeping sickness etc.. |
| ~ blow fly, blowfly | large usually hairy metallic blue or green fly; lays eggs in carrion or dung or wounds. |
| ~ flesh fly, sarcophaga carnaria | fly whose larvae feed on carrion or the flesh of living animals. |
| ~ tachina fly | bristly fly whose larvae live parasitically in caterpillars and other insects; important in control of noxious insects. |
| ~ gadfly | any of various large flies that annoy livestock. |
| ~ bee fly | hairy nectar-eating fly that resembles a bee; larvae are parasitic on larvae of bees and related insects. |
| ~ haematobia irritans, horn fly | small black European fly introduced into North America; sucks blood from cattle especially at the base of the horn. |
| n. (artifact) | 2. fly, fly sheet, rainfly, tent flap, tent-fly | flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent. |
| ~ flap | any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely.; "he wrote on the flap of the envelope" |
| ~ fly tent | a tent with a fly front. |
| n. (artifact) | 3. fly, fly front | an opening in a garment that is closed by a zipper or by buttons concealed under a fold of cloth. |
| ~ garment | an article of clothing.; "garments of the finest silk" |
| ~ opening | a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made.; "they left a small opening for the cat at the bottom of the door" |
| n. (act) | 4. fly, fly ball | (baseball) a hit that flies up in the air. |
| ~ hitting, hit, striking | the act of contacting one thing with another.; "repeated hitting raised a large bruise"; "after three misses she finally got a hit" |
| ~ blast | a very long fly ball. |
| ~ pop-fly, pop fly, pop-up | a short high fly ball. |
| ~ line drive, liner | (baseball) a hit that flies straight out from the batter.; "the batter hit a liner to the shortstop" |
| ~ flare | (baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield. |
| ~ texas leaguer | (baseball) a fly ball that falls between and infielder and an outfielder. |
| ~ baseball, baseball game | a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs.; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League ball in the area"; "play ball!" |
| n. (artifact) | 5. fly | fisherman's lure consisting of a fishhook decorated to look like an insect. |
| ~ dry fly | a fly (fisherman's lure) that skims the surface of the water. |
| ~ fish lure, fisherman's lure | (angling) any bright artificial bait consisting of plastic or metal mounted with hooks and trimmed with feathers. |
| ~ streamer fly | an artificial fly that has wings extending back beyond the crook of the fishhook. |
| ~ wet fly | fisherman's fly that floats under the surface of the water. |
| v. (motion) | 6. fly, wing | travel through the air; be airborne.; "Man cannot fly" |
| ~ go, locomote, move, travel | change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically.; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" |
| ~ fly | travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft.; "Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic" |
| ~ buzz | fly low.; "Planes buzzed the crowds in the square" |
| ~ rack | fly in high wind. |
| ~ flight | fly in a flock.; "flighting wild geese" |
| ~ fly on | continue flying. |
| ~ soar | fly upwards or high in the sky. |
| ~ hover | hang in the air; fly or be suspended above. |
| v. (motion) | 7. fly | move quickly or suddenly.; "He flew about the place" |
| ~ move | move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion.; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" |
| v. (motion) | 8. aviate, fly, pilot | operate an airplane.; "The pilot flew to Cuba" |
| ~ air travel, aviation, air | travel via aircraft.; "air travel involves too much waiting in airports"; "if you've time to spare go by air" |
| ~ aircraft | a vehicle that can fly. |
| ~ control, operate | handle and cause to function.; "do not operate machinery after imbibing alcohol"; "control the lever" |
| ~ fly | transport by aeroplane.; "We fly flowers from the Caribbean to North America" |
| ~ fly | travel in an airplane.; "she is flying to Cincinnati tonight"; "Are we driving or flying?" |
| ~ fly | travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft.; "Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic" |
| ~ fly, wing | travel through the air; be airborne.; "Man cannot fly" |
| ~ fly blind | fly an airplane solely by relying on instruments. |
| ~ fly contact | fly a plane by using visible landmarks or points of reference. |
| ~ solo | fly alone, without a co-pilot or passengers. |
| ~ test fly | test a plane. |
| ~ jet | fly a jet plane. |
| ~ glide | fly in or as if in a glider plane. |
| ~ hydroplane, seaplane | glide on the water in a hydroplane. |
| ~ balloon | ride in a hot-air balloon.; "He tried to balloon around the earth but storms forced him to land in China" |
| ~ flat-hat, hedgehop | fly very close to the ground. |
| ~ hang glide, soar | fly by means of a hang glider. |
| v. (contact) | 9. fly | transport by aeroplane.; "We fly flowers from the Caribbean to North America" |
| ~ carry, transport | move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body.; "You must carry your camping gear"; "carry the suitcases to the car"; "This train is carrying nuclear waste"; "These pipes carry waste water into the river" |
| ~ airlift, lift | fly people or goods to or from places not accessible by other means.; "Food is airlifted into Bosnia" |
| ~ aviate, pilot, fly | operate an airplane.; "The pilot flew to Cuba" |
| v. (motion) | 10. fly | cause to fly or float.; "fly a kite" |
| ~ kite | fly a kite.; "Kids were kiting in the park"; "They kited the Red Dragon model" |
| ~ be adrift, drift, float, blow | be in motion due to some air or water current.; "The leaves were blowing in the wind"; "the boat drifted on the lake"; "The sailboat was adrift on the open sea"; "the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore" |
| ~ fly | display in the air or cause to float.; "fly a kite"; "All nations fly their flags in front of the U.N." |
| v. (motion) | 11. fly | be dispersed or disseminated.; "Rumors and accusations are flying" |
| ~ go, locomote, move, travel | change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically.; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" |
| v. (change) | 12. fly | change quickly from one emotional state to another.; "fly into a rage" |
| ~ change | undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature.; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" |
| v. (motion) | 13. fell, fly, vanish | pass away rapidly.; "Time flies like an arrow"; "Time fleeing beneath him" |
| ~ vaporize, vanish, fly | decrease rapidly and disappear.; "the money vanished in las Vegas"; "all my stock assets have vaporized" |
| ~ elapse, glide by, go by, slide by, slip by, slip away, go along, pass, lapse | pass by.; "three years elapsed" |
| v. (motion) | 14. fly | travel in an airplane.; "she is flying to Cincinnati tonight"; "Are we driving or flying?" |
| ~ air travel, aviation, air | travel via aircraft.; "air travel involves too much waiting in airports"; "if you've time to spare go by air" |
| ~ red-eye | travel on an overnight flight.; "The candidate red-eyed from California to the East Coast the night before the election to give a last stump speech" |
| ~ travel | undergo transportation as in a vehicle.; "We travelled North on Rte. 508" |
| ~ aviate, pilot, fly | operate an airplane.; "The pilot flew to Cuba" |
| v. (perception) | 15. fly | display in the air or cause to float.; "fly a kite"; "All nations fly their flags in front of the U.N." |
| ~ fly | cause to fly or float.; "fly a kite" |
| ~ show | make visible or noticeable.; "She showed her talent for cooking"; "Show me your etchings, please" |
| v. (motion) | 16. flee, fly, take flight | run away quickly.; "He threw down his gun and fled" |
| ~ break | make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing.; "The ranks broke" |
| ~ stampede | run away in a stampede. |
| ~ abscond, absquatulate, go off, make off, run off, decamp, bolt | run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along.; "The thief made off with our silver"; "the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe" |
| ~ elope, run off | run away secretly with one's beloved.; "The young couple eloped and got married in Las Vegas" |
| ~ escape, get away, break loose | run away from confinement.; "The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison" |
| ~ fly the coop, head for the hills, hightail it, lam, run away, scarper, scat, take to the woods, turn tail, run, bunk, break away, escape | flee; take to one's heels; cut and run.; "If you see this man, run!"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed up" |
| ~ high-tail | retreat at full speed.; "The actress high-tailed to her villa when reporters began to follow her to the restaurant" |
| ~ defect, desert | desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army.; "If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot" |
| v. (motion) | 17. fly | travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft.; "Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic" |
| ~ journey, travel | travel upon or across.; "travel the oceans" |
| ~ fly, wing | travel through the air; be airborne.; "Man cannot fly" |
| ~ aviate, pilot, fly | operate an airplane.; "The pilot flew to Cuba" |
| v. (contact) | 18. fly | hit a fly. |
| ~ baseball, baseball game | a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs.; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League ball in the area"; "play ball!" |
| ~ hit | cause to move by striking.; "hit a ball" |
| v. (change) | 19. fly, vanish, vaporize | decrease rapidly and disappear.; "the money vanished in las Vegas"; "all my stock assets have vaporized" |
| ~ decrease, diminish, lessen, fall | decrease in size, extent, or range.; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" |
| ~ fell, vanish, fly | pass away rapidly.; "Time flies like an arrow"; "Time fleeing beneath him" |
| adj. | 20. fly | (British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked. |
| ~ colloquialism | a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech. |
| ~ britain, great britain, u.k., uk, united kingdom, united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland | a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. |
| ~ alert, watchful | engaged in or accustomed to close observation.; "caught by a couple of alert cops"; "alert enough to spot the opportunity when it came"; "constantly alert and vigilant, like a sentinel on duty" |
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