What does "flight" mean?
The act of flying.
Flight
/flaɪt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of flying.
- Grammar: flight is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: escape, flying, a mass of, a world of.
- Useful contrasts: elevator, ground transport, hunt.
- Usage evidence: Now I have to leave, they're calling for my flight.
How to use "flight"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flight" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flight" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flight" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flight" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flight" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "escape" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flight", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of flying. countable, uncountable
"Most birds are capable of flight."
- 2 The act of fleeing. countable, uncountable
"take flight"
- 3 the act of escaping physically wordnet
- 4 An instance of flying. countable, uncountable
"The migrating birds' flight took them to Africa."
- 5 a scheduled trip by plane between designated airports wordnet
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 A collective term for doves or swallows. collective, countable, uncountable
"a flight of swallows"
- 7 an instance of traveling by air wordnet
- 8 A trip made by an aircraft, particularly one between two cities or countries, which is often planned or reserved in advance. countable, uncountable
"The flight to Paris leaves at 7 o'clock tonight."
- 9 a stairway (set of steps) between one floor or landing and the next wordnet
- 10 A series of stairs between landings. countable, uncountable
"Limerick terminus has changed but little since its opening, and travellers still ascend the same flight of steps from the forecourt to enter the handsome two-storey stone building, which contains the offices and a recently-modernised refreshment room."
- 11 passing above and beyond ordinary bounds wordnet
- 12 A group of canal locks with a short distance between them countable, uncountable
- 13 an air force unit smaller than a squadron wordnet
- 14 A floor which is reached by stairs or escalators. countable, uncountable
"How many flights is it up?"
- 15 a formation of aircraft in flight wordnet
- 16 The feathers on an arrow or dart used to help it follow an even path. countable, uncountable
"Baſſ. In my ſchoole dayes, when I had loſt one ſhaft / I ſhot his fellow of the ſelfeſame flight / The ſelfeſame way, with more aduiſed watch / To finde the other forth, and by aduenturing both, / I oft found both. I vrge this child-hoode proofe, […]"
- 17 a flock of flying birds wordnet
- 18 A paper airplane. countable, uncountable
- 19 the path followed by an object moving through space wordnet
- 20 The movement of a spinning ball through the air, with its speed, trajectory and drift. countable, uncountable
- 21 The ballistic trajectory of an arrow or other projectile. countable, uncountable
- 22 An aerodynamic surface designed to guide such a projectile's trajectory. countable, uncountable
- 23 An air force unit. countable, uncountable
- 24 A numbered subclass of a given class of warship, denoting incremental modernizations to the original design. US, countable, uncountable
- 25 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. countable, uncountable
- 26 A comparable sample of beers or other drinks. broadly, countable, uncountable
- 27 The shaped material forming the thread of a screw. countable, uncountable
- 28 An episode of imaginative thinking or dreaming. countable, uncountable
"a flight of fancy; a flight of the imagination"
- 29 An advertising campaign of fixed length. countable, uncountable
"After the first eight-week flight of advertising, the tracking research showed that consumers' predisposition to use Citi as a financial services provider jumped 50 percent."
Verb
- 1 To throw the ball in such a way that it has more airtime and more spin than usual.
- 2 decorate with feathers wordnet
- 3 To throw or kick something so as to send it flying with more loft or airtime than usual. broadly, transitive
"Riyad Mahrez flighted the free-kick that followed to the far post and Morgan, with not much finesse but plenty of desire, bundled the ball over the line. Cue pandemonium in the stands."
- 4 fly in a flock wordnet
- 5 shoot a bird in flight wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Fast, swift, fleet. obsolete
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Now I have to leave, they're calling for my flight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flight"?
Common synonyms include: escape, flying, a mass of, a world of, abandonment, abscond.
How do you use "flight" in a sentence?
Now I have to leave, they're calling for my flight.
How do you pronounce "flight"?
Pronounced /flaɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk-der. Proto-Germanic *fleuganą Proto-West Germanic *fleugan Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-West Germanic *-þi Proto-West Germanic *fluhti Old English flyht Middle English flight English flight From Middle English flight, from Old English flyht (“flight”), from Proto-West Germanic *fluhti (“flight”), derived from *fleuganą (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”), enlargement of *plew- (“flow”). Analyzable as fly + -t (variant of -th). Cognate with West Frisian flecht (“flight”), Dutch vlucht (“flight”), German Flucht (“flight”) (etymology 2).
Etymology 2
From Middle English, from Old English flyht, from Proto-West Germanic *fluhti, derived from *fleuhaną (“to flee”). Analyzable as flee + -t (variant of -th). Cognate with Dutch vlucht, German Flucht (etymology 1).