fleet1

[fleet] /flit/
noun
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.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English flete, Old English flēot, derivative of flēotan to float; see fleet2

fleet2

[fleet] /flit/
adjective, fleeter, fleetest.
1.
swift; rapid:
to be fleet of foot; a fleet horse.
verb (used without object)
2.
to move swiftly; fly.
3.
Nautical. to change position; shift.
4.
Archaic.
  1. to glide along like a stream.
  2. to fade; vanish.
5.
Obsolete. to float; drift; swim.
verb (used with object)
6.
to cause (time) to pass lightly or swiftly.
7.
Nautical.
  1. to move or change the position of.
  2. to separate the blocks of (a tackle).
  3. to lay (a rope) along a deck.
Origin
before 900; Middle English fleten to be fleet, Old English flēotan to float; see float
Related forms
fleetly, adverb
fleetness, noun
Synonyms
6. speed, hasten; beguile.

fleet3

[fleet] /flit/
noun, British Dialect
1.
an arm of the sea; inlet.
2.
a creek; stream; watercourse.
3.
the Fleet, a former prison in London, long used for debtors.
Origin
before 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
Examples from the web for fleet
  • One way to think of this group is to imagine the economy as a fleet of pick-up trucks.
  • The mutiny of a flagship almost surely signals change for the fleet.
  • And the agency is not confident to order a fleet of these yet.
  • Imagine trying to get this big fleet into position in enough time to suck the life out of a storm.
  • The country should begin transforming the transportation fleet to alternative fuels.
  • If you're thinking about running the campus fleet on biofuel, you might think twice.
  • One was that the whaling fleet was so far to the west.
  • The first field test of a fleet of electric vehicles powered by fuel cells.
  • The college is switching to hybrid vehicles for its fleet and is installing photovoltaic panels on buildings.
  • It takes a wrangler's spirit, fleet feet, and no small share of technical expertise to grab data from a raging tornado.
British Dictionary definitions for fleet

fleet1

/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
Word Origin
Old English flēot ship, flowing water, from flēotan to float

fleet2

/fliːt/
adjective
1.
rapid in movement; swift
2.
(poetic) fleeting; transient
verb
3.
(intransitive) to move rapidly
4.
(intransitive) (archaic) to fade away smoothly; glide
5.
(transitive) (nautical)
  1. to change the position of (a hawser)
  2. to pass (a messenger or lead) to a hawser from a winch for hauling in
  3. to spread apart (the blocks of a tackle)
6.
(intransitive) (obsolete) to float or swim
7.
(transitive) (obsolete) to cause (time) to pass rapidly
Derived Forms
fleetly, adverb
fleetness, noun
Word Origin
probably Old English flēotan to float, glide rapidly; related to Old High German fliozzan to flow, Latin pluere to rain

fleet3

/fliːt/
noun
1.
(mainly Southeast English) a small coastal inlet; creek
Word Origin
Old English flēot flowing water; see fleet1

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
Word Origin and History for fleet
n.

Old English fleot "ship, raft, floating vessel," from fleotan "to float" (see fleet (v.)). Sense of "naval force" is pre-1200. The Old English word also meant "creek, inlet, flow of water," especially one into the Thames near Ludgate Hill, which lent its name to Fleet Street (home of newspaper and magazine houses, standing for "the English press" since 1882), Fleet prison, etc.

adj.

"swift," 1520s, but probably older than the record; apparently from or cognate with Old Norse fliotr "swift," and from the root of fleet (v.)). Related: Fleetness.

v.

Old English fleotan "to float, drift, flow, swim, sail," later (c.1200) "to flow," from Proto-Germanic *fleut- (cf. Old Frisian fliata, Old Saxon fliotan "to flow," Old High German fliozzan "to float, flow," German flieszen "to flow," Old Norse fliota "to float, flow"), from PIE root *pleu- "to flow, run, swim" (see pluvial).

Meaning "to glide away like a stream, vanish imperceptibly" is from c.1200; hence "to fade, to vanish" (1570s). Related: Fleeted; fleeting.