Flight

Pronunciation

• enPR: flÄ«t, IPA: /flaɪt/
• Rhymes: -aɪt

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English flyht, from Proto-Germanic *fluhtiz. Cognate with Dutch vlucht and German Flucht.

Full definition of flight

Noun

1. The act of flying.Birds are capable of flight
2. An instance of flying.The migrating birds' flight took them to Africa.
3. A collective term for doves or swallows.
4. A journey made by an aircraft, eg a balloon, plane or space shuttle, particularly one between two airports, which needs to be reserved in advance.The flight to Paris leaves at 7 o'clock tonightWhere is the departure gate for flight 747?
   Go straight down and to the right.
5. The act of fleeing. (Flight is the noun which corresponds to the verb flee.)take flightthe flight of a refugee
6. A set of stairs or an escalator. A series of stairs between landings.
7. A floor which is reached by stairs or escalators.How many flights is it up?
8. A feather on an arrow or dart used to help it follow an even path.
9. A paper plane.
10. (cricket) The movement of a spinning ball through the air - concerns its speed, trajectory and drift.
11. The ballistic trajectory of an arrow or other projectile.
12. An aerodynamic surface designed to guide such a projectile's trajectory.
13. An air force unit.
14. Several sample glasses of a specific wine varietal or other beverage. The pours are smaller than a full glass and the flight will generally include three to five different samples.
15. (engineering) The shaped material forming the thread of a screw.

Derived terms

Related terms

• fly

Adjective

1. (obsolete) Fast, swift.

Verb

1. (cricket, of a spin bowler) To throw the ball in such a way that it has more airtime and more spin than usual.