fleets
plural of fleet
fleets
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of fleet
• fleest
Source: Wiktionary
Fleet, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fleeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleeting.] Etym: [OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fleótan to swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG. fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. fljota to float, flow, Sw. flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. plu to swim, sail. sq. root84. 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.)
Definition: 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.] Etym: [Cf. Icel. flj 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 penetring deep, as soil. [Prov. Eng.] Mortimer.
Fleet, n. Etym: [OE. flete, fleote, AS. fleót ship, fr. fleótan to float, swim. See Fleet, v. i. and cf. Float.]
Definition: 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. Etym: [AS. fleót 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. Etym: [AS. flet cream, fr. fleótan to float. See Fleet, v. i.]
Definition: To take the cream from; to skim. [Prov. Eng.] Johnson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
24 January 2025
(noun) a state of agitation or turbulent change or development; “the political ferment produced new leadership”; “social unrest”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
