"fleet" - meanings, definitions, synonyms, thesaurus and antonyms

\Fleet\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fleeted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Fleeting}.] [OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fle['o]tan to
swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG.
fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. flj[=o]ta to float, flow, Sw.
flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. ? to sail, swim,
float, Skr. plu to swim, sail. [root]84. Cf. {Fleet}, n. &
a., {Float}, {Pluvial}, {Flow}.]
1. To sail; to float. [Obs.]

         And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet.
                                               --Spenser.

2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit
   as a light substance.

         All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . .
         Dissolved on earth, fleet hither.     --Milton.

3. (Naut.) To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan
   or windlass; -- said of a cable or hawser.

\Fleet\, v. t.
1. To pass over rapidly; to skin the surface of; as, a ship
   that fleets the gulf. --Spenser.

2. To hasten over; to cause to pass away lighty, or in mirth
   and joy.

         Many young gentlemen flock to him, and fleet the
         time carelessly.                      --Shak.

3. (Naut.)
   (a) To draw apart the blocks of; -- said of a tackle.
       --Totten.
   (b) To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or
       windlass, as a rope or chain.

\Fleet\, a. [Compar. {Fleeter}; superl. {Fleetest}.] [Cf.
Icel. flj?tr quick. See {Fleet}, v. i.]
1. Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in
   going from place to place; nimble.

         In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong.
                                               --Milton.

2. Light; superficially thin; not penetrating deep, as soil.
   [Prov. Eng.] --Mortimer.

\Fleet\, n. [OE. flete, fleote, AS. fle['o]t ship, fr.
fle['o]tan to float, swim. See {Fleet}, v. i. and cf.
{Float}.]
A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also,
the collective naval force of a country, etc.

{Fleet captain}, the senior aid of the admiral of a fleet,
   when a captain. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

\Fleet\, n. [AS. fle['o]t a place where vessels float,
bay, river; akin to D. vliet rill, brook, G. fliess. See
{Fleet}, v. i.]
1. A flood; a creek or inlet; a bay or estuary; a river; --
   obsolete, except as a place name, -- as Fleet Street in
   London.

         Together wove we nets to entrap the fish In floods
         and sedgy fleets.                     --Matthewes.

2. A former prison in London, which originally stood near a
   stream, the Fleet (now filled up).

{Fleet parson}, a clergyman of low character, in, or in the
   vicinity of, the Fleet prison, who was ready to unite
   persons in marriage (called Fleet marriage) at any hour,
   without public notice, witnesses, or consent of parents.

\Fleet\, v. t. [AS. fl[=e]t cream, fr. fle['o]tan to
float. See {Fleet}, v. i.]
To take the cream from; to skim. [Prov. Eng.] --Johnson.

\Fleet\, v. i. (Naut.)
To move or change in position; -- said of persons; as, the
crew fleeted aft.

\Fleet"\, v. t. (Naut.)
To move or change in position; used only in special phrases;
as, of fleet aft the crew.

      We got the long ``stick'' . . . down and ``fleeted''
      aft, where it was secured.               --F. T.
                                               Bullen.