| / English Dictionary |
FLIGHT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of escaping physically
Example:
his flight was an indication of his guilt
Synonyms:
escape; flight
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
running away (the act of leaving (without permission) the place you are expected to be)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flight"):
evasion (the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver)
break; breakout; gaolbreak; jailbreak; prison-breaking; prisonbreak (an escape from jail)
getaway; lam (a rapid escape (as by criminals))
exodus; hegira; hejira (a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment)
skedaddle (a hasty flight)
Instance hyponyms:
Hegira; Hejira (the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 which marked the beginning of the Muslim era; the Muslim calendar begins in that year)
Underground Railroad; Underground Railway (secret aid to escaping slaves that was provided by abolitionists in the years before the American Civil War)
Derivation:
flee (run away quickly)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A scheduled trip by plane between designated airports
Example:
I took the noon flight to Chicago
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
trip (a journey for some purpose (usually including the return))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flight"):
redeye; redeye flight (a night flight from which the passengers emerge with eyes red from lack of sleep)
nonstop; nonstop flight (a flight made without intermediate stops between source and destination)
international flight (a flight that takes off in one country and lands in another)
domestic flight (a flight that begins and ends in the same country)
direct flight (a flight with one or more intermediate stops but no change of aircraft)
connecting flight (a flight with an intermediate stop and a change of aircraft (possibly a change of airlines))
Sense 3
Meaning:
An instance of traveling by air
Example:
flying was still an exciting adventure for him
Synonyms:
flight; flying
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
air; air travel; aviation (travel via aircraft)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flight"):
low level flight; terrain flight (flight at very low altitudes)
sortie ((military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation))
solo (a flight in which the aircraft pilot is unaccompanied)
pass (a flight or run by an aircraft over a target)
overflight (a flight by an aircraft over a particular area (especially over an area in foreign territory))
maiden flight (the first flight of its kind)
glide; gliding; sailing; sailplaning; soaring (the activity of flying a glider)
fly-by; flyover; flypast (a flight at a low altitude (usually of military aircraft) over spectators on the ground)
ballooning (flying in a balloon)
blind flying; blind landing (using only instruments for flying an aircraft because you cannot see through clouds or mists etc.)
acrobatics; aerobatics; stunt flying; stunting (the performance of stunts while in flight in an aircraft)
Derivation:
flight (fly in a flock)
flight (shoot a bird in flight)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A stairway (set of steps) between one floor or landing and the next
Synonyms:
flight; flight of stairs; flight of steps
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
staircase; stairway (a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Passing above and beyond ordinary bounds
Example:
flights of imagination
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
creative thinking; creativeness; creativity (the ability to create)
Sense 6
Meaning:
An air force unit smaller than a squadron
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
air unit (a military unit that is part of the airforce)
Sense 7
Meaning:
A formation of aircraft in flight
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
formation (an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit)
Sense 8
Meaning:
A flock of flying birds
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
flock (a group of birds)
Derivation:
flight (fly in a flock)
Sense 9
Meaning:
The path followed by an object moving through space
Synonyms:
flight; trajectory
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):
mechanical phenomenon (a physical phenomenon associated with the equilibrium or motion of objects)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flight"):
ballistic trajectory; ballistics (the trajectory of an object in free flight)
gravity-assist ((spaceflight) a trajectory that passes close to a planetary body in order to gain energy from its gravitational field)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Decorate with feathers
Example:
fledge an arrow
Synonyms:
fledge; flight
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Hypernyms (to "flight" is one way to...):
adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament (make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Fly in a flock
Example:
flighting wild geese
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "flight" is one way to...):
fly; wing (travel through the air; be airborne)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
flight (an instance of traveling by air)
flight (a flock of flying birds)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Shoot a bird in flight
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "flight" is one way to...):
pip; shoot (kill by firing a missile)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
flight (an instance of traveling by air)
Context examples:
Cortisol is involved in the fight-or-flight response and binds to GRs and MRs in different tissues of the body to reduce inflammation, among other functions.
(Healthy hearts need two proteins working together, National Institutes of Health)
The bird took its flight to a dark wood and remained there for a long time, and meanwhile the parents could hear nothing of their child.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
She wondered at the rapid flight of the Monkeys, but was glad the journey was over.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Owls are known for silent flight, owing to their unique wing features, which are normally characterized by leading-edge serrations, trailing-edge fringes and velvet-like surfaces.
(Owls' Wings Key to Beating Wind Turbine Noise, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Every year during spring and fall migration, tens of millions of birds take flight at sunset and pass over our heads, unseen in the night sky.
(Using artificial intelligence to track birds' dark-of-night migrations, National Science Foundation)
Measuring approximately 13 inches in length, Ambopteryx would have lived in the trees of the Jurassic period and used its wings to glide through the air, rather than for powered flight.
(Second Bat-Like Dinosaur Discovered in China, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Scientists thought this pattern was hyper-efficient and evolved to support flight.
(Following the lizard lung labyrinth, National Science Foundation)
'We suggest that using specific flight movements to scan targets, rather than numerical concepts, explains the bees' ability to count.'
(Scientists Discover Bees Can Count Using Only Four Brain Cells, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
But looking on my left hand, I saw a horse walking softly in the field; which my persecutors having sooner discovered, was the cause of their flight.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
‘In order to reach the billiard-room I had to descend a flight of stairs and then to cross the head of a passage which led to the library and the gun-room.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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