fleet

UK: /ˈfliːt/ US: /flit/ ,(flēt)

Inflections of 'fleet' (adj):

fleeter

adj comparative

fleetest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

fleet¹ /flit/   n. [countable]

1. Military a unit of naval ships grouped under one commander:
   the Pacific fleet.
2. all the naval ships of a nation;
   navy:
   the American fleet.
3. a group of vehicles under one management:
   a fleet of cabs.

fleet² /flit/   adj., -er, -est. 

1. swift;
   rapid:
   a fleet horse.

fleet•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fleet¹  (flēt), n. 

1. the largest organized unit of naval ships grouped for tactical or other purposes.
2. the largest organization of warships under the command of a single officer.
3. a number of naval vessels or vessels carrying armed crew members.
4. a large group of ships, airplanes, trucks, etc., operated by a single company or under the same ownership:
   He owns a fleet of cabs.
5. a large group of airplanes, automobiles, etc., moving or operating together.

• bef. 1000; Middle English flete, Old English flēot, derivative of flēotan to float; see fleet²

fleet²  (flēt), adj., -er, est, v. 
adj. 

1. swift;
   rapid:
   to be fleet of foot; a fleet horse.

v.i. 

2. to move swiftly;
   fly.
3. Nautical, Naval Terms to change position;
   shift.
4. [Archaic.]
   • to glide along like a stream.
   • to fade;
     vanish.
5. [Obs.] to float;
   drift;
   swim.

v.t. 

6. to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.
7. [Naut.]
   • Naval Terms to move or change the position of.
   • Naval Terms to separate the blocks of (a tackle).
   • Naval Terms to lay (a rope) along a deck.

• bef. 900; Middle English fleten to be fleet, Old English flēotan to float; see float

fleet′ly, adv. 
fleet′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 6. speed, hasten; beguile.

fleet³  (flēt), n. [Brit. Dial.]

1. British Terms an arm of the sea;
   inlet.
2. British Terms a creek;
   stream;
   watercourse.
3. British Terms, World History the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.

• bef. 900; Middle English flete, Old English flēot flowing water; cognate with German Fliess brook; (def. 3) after the Fleet a stream, later covered and used as a sewer, near which the prison was located

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

fleet / fliːt/ noun

1. a number of warships organized as a tactical unit
2. all the warships of a nation
3. a number of aircraft, ships, buses, etc, operating together or under the same ownership

Etymology: Old English flēot ship, flowing water, from flēotan to float

fleet / fliːt/ adjective

1. rapid in movement; swift
2. fleeting; transient

verb

1. (intransitive) to move rapidly
2. (transitive) to cause (time) to pass rapidly

Etymology: probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain

ˈfleetly adverb

ˈfleetness noun

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Fleet / fliːt/ noun the Fleet ⇒

1. a stream that formerly ran into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street and is now a covered sewer
2. Also called: Fleet Prison (formerly) a London prison, esp used for holding debtors