flight

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Old English flyht; akin to Middle Dutch vlucht flight, Old English flēogan to fly Date: before 12th century 1. a. an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings <

the flight of a bee

> b. the ability to fly <

flight is natural to birds

> 2. a. a passing through the air or through space outside the earth's atmosphere <

flight of an arrow

> <

flight of a rocket to the moon

> b. the distance covered in such a flight c. swift movement 3. a. a trip made by or in an airplane or spacecraft b. a scheduled airplane trip 4. a group of similar beings or objects flying through the air together 5. a brilliant, imaginative, or unrestrained exercise or display <

a flight of fancy

> 6. a. a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another b. a series (as of terraces or conveyors) resembling a flight of stairs 7. a unit of the United States Air Force below a squadron • flightless adjective II. verb Date: 1571 transitive verb flush intransitive verb to rise, settle, or fly in a flock <

geese flighting on the marsh

> III. noun Etymology: Middle English fluht, fliht; akin to Old High German fluht flight, Old English flēon to flee Date: 13th century an act or instance of running away