fly
Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
Noun 4 meanings
Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
Those or any similar but not closely related insect, such as a dragonfly, butterfly, or gallfly.
A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
Verb 4 meanings
To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface.
“Birds of passage fly to warmer regions as it gets colder in winter.”
To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like.
“Charles Lindbergh flew his airplane The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic ocean.”
To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter.
“When the wind picked up, her hair flew back behind her head.”
To drain away or be expended quickly.
“The family fortune flew in a few short years.”
Etymology
From Middle English fflye, flehe, flei, fleie, fley, fleye, fleȝe, flie, fliȝe, flye, vliȝe, vlye, from Old English flēge, flēoge, flīeġe (“a fly”), from Proto-West Germanic *fleugā, from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ (“a fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to flow, fly, run; to splash”), enlargement of *plew- (“to flow, fly, run”).
Similar and opposite words
FLY at a glance
FLY has 3 letters and scores 9 points in Scrabble (F 4 + L 1 + Y 4) and 9 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #1,780 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with fly
All rhymes- BRIEFLY15
- BUTTERFLY17
- CHIEFLY18
- FIREFLY16
- DRAGONFLY17
- SUPERFLY16
- STIFFLY16
- GADFLY14
- MAYFLY17
- BARFLY14
- HOUSEFLY17
- SAWFLY15
One letter away
- FLU6
- FRY9
- SLY6
- FAY9
- PLY8
- FEY9
- FOY9
- CLY8
- VLY9
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