First recorded in 1520–30; probably from or akin to Old Norse fljótr “quick, speedy”
SYNONYMS FOR fleet
6 speed, hasten; beguile.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR fleet ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM fleet
fleetly,adverbfleetness,noun
Definition for fleet (3 of 3)
fleet3
[ fleet ]
/ flit /
nounBritishDialect.
an arm of the sea; inlet.
a creek; stream; watercourse.
the Fleet,a former prison in London, long used for debtors.
Origin of fleet
3
First recorded before 900; Middle English flete, Old English flēot “flowing water”; cognate with German Fliess “brook”; def. 3 is so called after the Fleet a stream, later covered and used as a sewer, near which the prison was located; cf. fleet1
At first, its strategy of selling carmakers the technology to build their own self-driving fleets looked promising.
Last Unicorn Standing: Can This Self-Driving Innovator Survive?|Charu Kasturi|August 27, 2020|Ozy
American says that on all planes in its fleet, air is either replaced with outside air, or scrubbed using hospital-grade HEPA filtration, every two-to-four minutes.
American Airlines touts a new tool to combat COVID. But does it really make flying safer?|dzanemorris|August 24, 2020|Fortune
American Airlines will swiftly begin electrostatically spraying the product across its fleet, including, eventually its regional aircraft, though it is limited to applying the disinfectant in the state of Texas under the current EPA authorization.
This product kills COVID for 7 days—and just got EPA approval for some American Airlines planes|Lee Clifford|August 24, 2020|Fortune
Instead, they taught a fleet of computers to do it for them.
Computer Search Settles 90-Year-Old Math Problem|Kevin Hartnett|August 19, 2020|Quanta Magazine
By 3rd century BC, Ostia was transformed into a naval base, so much so that it became the seat of one of the officially appointed commanders of the Roman fleet, who was known as the quaestor Ostiensis.
Ostia Antica: Reconstruction and History of The Harbor City of Ancient Rome|Dattatreya Mandal|April 14, 2020|Realm of History
The player starts out with a fleet of three or four ships (depending on the machine), which he operates one at a time.
‘Asteroids’ & The Dawn of the Gamer Age|David Owen|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The company also converts the gas into a liquid fuel that can run vehicles in its fleet.
Garbage In, Power Out|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Waste Management, the large disposal company, has turned its landfills into a fleet of power producers.
Garbage In, Power Out|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2015, Monster Jam will have a fleet of eight female drivers.
The Moms of Monster Jam Drive Trucks, Buck Macho Culture|Eliza Krigman|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Russia is also working on new a fleet of ballistic missile submarines, attack submarines to operate under the ice caps.
Russia Preps Its North Pole Invasion|Dave Majumdar|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A French fleet arrived in May, with provisions, clothing, and ammunition.
An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800|Mary Frances Cusack
MacRae beat him two hours to the trolling fleet at Squitty, a fleet that was growing in numbers.
Poor Man's Rock|Bertrand W. Sinclair
These fortifications were hardly commenced when another Dutch fleet appeared before the town.
Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2|Brantz Mayer
According to English sources Olaf was lying with his fleet off Southampton during the winter of 994-995.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade)|Snorri Sturluson
Rugged mountains form the background of the valley to the east, down from which comes murmuring the fleet but shallow Teivi.
The Welsh and Their Literature|George Borrow
British Dictionary definitions for fleet (1 of 4)
fleet1
/ (fliːt) /
noun
a number of warships organized as a tactical unit
all the warships of a nation
a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership
Word Origin for fleet
Old English flēot ship, flowing water, from flēotan to float
British Dictionary definitions for fleet (2 of 4)
fleet2
/ (fliːt) /
adjective
rapid in movement; swift
poeticfleeting; transient
verb
(intr)to move rapidly
(intr)archaicto fade away smoothly; glide
(tr)nautical
to change the position of (a hawser)
to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in
to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)
(intr)obsoleteto float or swim
(tr)obsoleteto cause (time) to pass rapidly
Derived forms of fleet
fleetly, adverbfleetness, noun
Word Origin for fleet
probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain
British Dictionary definitions for fleet (3 of 4)
fleet3
/ (fliːt) /
noun
mainlySoutheast Englisha small coastal inlet; creek
Word Origin for fleet
Old English flēot flowing water; see fleet1
British Dictionary definitions for fleet (4 of 4)
Fleet
/ (fliːt) /
nounthe Fleet
a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer
Also called: Fleet Prison(formerly) a London prison, esp used for holding debtors