fleeverb [ I or T, never passive ]
uk/fliː/us/fliː/present participle fleeing, past tense and past participle fledC1 to escape by running away, especially because of danger or fear:
She fled (from) the room in tears.
In order to escape capture, he fled to the mountains.
flee the country
to quickly go to another country in order to escape from something or someone:
It is likely that the suspects have fled the country by now.
More examples
- Every year thousands of people flee the big cities in search of the rural idyll.
- War, famine and oppression have forced people in the region to flee from their homes.
- Thousands of fugitives are fleeing from the war-torn area.
- Hundreds of people have left their devastated villages and fled to the mountains.
- Thousands of refugees fled across the border.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Running away and escaping
- abscond
- back away
- back off
- bail out
- be at large idiom
- be on the run idiom
- fugitive
- gaolbreak
- getaway
- go/be run to ground idiom
- heel
- jailbreak
- leg
- loose
- shake sb/sth off
- shoot through
- skedaddle
- slip
- stand clear
- throw
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