FLIGHT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does flight mean? 

• FLIGHT (noun)
  The noun FLIGHT has 9 senses:

1. a formation of aircraft in flight

2. an instance of traveling by air

3. a stairway (set of steps) between one floor or landing and the next

4. the act of escaping physically

5. an air force unit smaller than a squadron

6. passing above and beyond ordinary bounds

7. the path followed by an object moving through space

8. a flock of flying birds

9. a scheduled trip by plane between designated airports

  Familiarity information: FLIGHT used as a noun is familiar.

• FLIGHT (verb)
  The verb FLIGHT has 3 senses:

1. shoot a bird in flight

2. fly in a flock

3. decorate with feathers

  Familiarity information: FLIGHT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FLIGHT (noun)

Sense 1

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 2

Meaning:

An instance of traveling by air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

flight; flying

Context example:

flying was still an exciting adventure for him

Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):

air; air travel; aviation (travel via aircraft)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flight"):

acrobatics; aerobatics; stunt flying; stunting (the performance of stunts while in flight in an aircraft)

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.)

Derivation:

flight (fly in a flock)

flight (shoot a bird in flight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A stairway (set of steps) between one floor or landing and the next

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

flight; flight of stairs; flight of steps

Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):

staircase; stairway (a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of escaping physically

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

escape; flight

Context example:

his flight was an indication of his guilt

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"):

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)

evasion (the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver)

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 5

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 6

Meaning:

Passing above and beyond ordinary bounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

flights of imagination

Hypernyms ("flight" is a kind of...):

creative thinking; creativeness; creativity (the ability to create)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The path followed by an object moving through space

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

flight; trajectory

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)

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:

A scheduled trip by plane between designated airports

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

I took the noon flight to Chicago

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"):

domestic flight (a flight that begins and ends in the same country)

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)

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))

• FLIGHT (verb)

Sense 1

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fly in a flock

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

flighting wild geese

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:

Decorate with feathers

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

fledge; flight

Context example:

fledge an arrow

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

 Context examples 

His cry brought back his son; but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in my flight.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

One part of the autonomic nervous system helps the body rest, relax, and digest food and another part helps a person fight or take flight in an emergency.

(Autonomic nervous system, NCI Dictionary)

The researchers hypothesize, therefore, that emissions from the flights could settle into the moats and become DBC.

(Antarctic lakes are a repository for ancient soot, NSF)

The lad, then, had a companion in his flight.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As he watched its flight he hated it, as though it had done him some terrible wrong.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The LBFD X-plane will be flown over communities to collect data necessary for regulators to enable supersonic flight over land in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

(NASA Completes Milestone Toward Quieter Supersonic X-Plane, NASA)

There are doorways and dust-heaps for such deaths, and such despair—find one, and take your flight to Heaven!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

One part of the involuntary nervous system helps the body rest, relax, and digest food and another part helps a person fight or take flight in an emergency.

(Involuntary nervous system, NCI Dictionary)

Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) Climb one flight of stairs.

(FIQR - Climb One Flight of Stairs, NCI Thesaurus)

The boat we were pursuing had squared away and was running before the wind to escape us, and, in the course of its flight, to take part in repulsing our general boat attack.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)