plural flights
often attributive
1
a
: an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings
the flight of a bee
b
: the ability to fly
flight is natural to birds
2
a
: a passing through the air or through space outside the earth's atmosphere
flight of an arrow
the flight of a rocket to the moon
b
: the distance covered in such a flight
c
: swift movement
3
a
: a trip made by or in an airplane or spacecraft
a transatlantic flight
b(1)
: a scheduled airplane trip
Our flight is at noon.
(2)
: the airplane that is making a trip
They boarded flight 109.
4
a
: a group of similar beings or objects flying through the air together
a flight of geese
b
: a number of competitors (as in a sport) grouped together on the basis of demonstrated skill or ability or for purposes of elimination contests prior to a final test
At a meet, shot putters and discus throwers are often separated into flights.—
Kristin Wolden Nitz
Kristin Wolden Nitz
c
: a selection of alcoholic drinks (such as wines, beers, or whiskeys) for tasting as a group
Most of the 20 people attending the tasting were German wine collectors and they seemed almost always to prefer the most powerful wine in each flight.—James Suckling
James SucklingThe tour meets in the White Labs tasting room, where you will have to ignore the siren call of the beer flights and follow your guide to the actual labs.—Karla Peterson
Karla Peterson5
: a brilliant, imaginative, or unrestrained exercise or display
a flight of fancy
6
a
: a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another
Her apartment is four flights up.
b
: a series (as of terraces or conveyors) resembling a flight of stairs
7
: a unit of the U.S. Air Force below a squadron
flighted; flighting; flights
: to rise, settle, or fly in a flock
geese flighting on the marsh
: an act or instance of running away
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Noun (2)
Examples of flight in a Sentence
Noun (1)
for centuries people had been fascinated by the flight of birds
Noun (2)
a work of 19th-century Romanticism depicting the ancient Israelites' flight from Egypt
Recent Examples on the Web
Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
South Korea Crash Image See these videos and maps that show how a Jeju Air flight crashed and became the deadliest aviation disaster in years.
—German Lopez, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Fares were only slightly more expensive for the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day − Saturday, Jan. 18 to Monday, Jan. 20 − but with the holiday weekend soon approaching, Hopper recommends booking flights as soon as possible before prices rise for last-minute flights.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025
Kim Kardashian’s aircraft, meanwhile, made 236 flights in 2024, traveling about 419,532 miles.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flight 
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Noun
Questions about the social utility of what writers did—questions that have plagued many writers, then and now—weighed heavily on midcentury Italian intellectuals, whose experience of recent history discouraged flights of fancy.
—Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
South Korea Crash Image See these videos and maps that show how a Jeju Air flight crashed and became the deadliest aviation disaster in years.
—German Lopez, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Fares were only slightly more expensive for the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day − Saturday, Jan. 18 to Monday, Jan. 20 − but with the holiday weekend soon approaching, Hopper recommends booking flights as soon as possible before prices rise for last-minute flights.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025
Kim Kardashian’s aircraft, meanwhile, made 236 flights in 2024, traveling about 419,532 miles.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flight
Dictionary Entries Near flight
Cite this Entry
“Flight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flight. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
flight
1 of 2 noun1
: an act or instance of passing through the air by the use of wings
a flight in a plane
the flight of birds
2
a
: a passing through the air or through outer space
the flight of a bullet
the flight of a rocket to the moon
b
: the distance covered in a flight
3
: a scheduled airplane trip
4
: a group of similar things flying through the air together
a flight of ducks
5
: a brilliant, imaginative, or uncontrolled exercise or display
a flight of fancy
6
: a continuous series of stairs from one landing or floor to another
flight
2 of 2 noun
: an act or instance of running away
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