flyv. i.[OE. fleen, fleen, fleyen, flegen, AS. flegan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG. fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. fljga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve, Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh. to L. pluma feather, E. plume. 84. Cf. Fledge, Flight, Flock of animals.]1. To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.()2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.()3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.() Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. (Job v. 7.)4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; rumor flies.()Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. (Milton.)The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on. (Bryant.)5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee.()Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. (Milton.)Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? (Shak.)6. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart.()To fly about (Naut.), to change frequently in a short time; -- said of the wind. -- To fly around, to move about in haste. [Colloq.] -- To fly at, to spring toward; to rush on; to attack suddenly. -- To fly in the face of, to insult; to assail; to set at defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct opposition to; to resist. -- To fly off, to separate, or become detached suddenly; to revolt. -- To fly on, to attack. -- To fly open, to open suddenly, or with violence. -- To fly out. (a) To rush out. (b) To burst into a passion; to break out into license. -- To let fly. (a) To throw or drive with violence; to discharge. A man lets fly his arrow without taking any aim. Addison. (b) (Naut.) To let go suddenly and entirely; as, to let fly the sheets.()v. t.1. To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc.()The brave black flag I fly. (W. S. Gilbert.)2. To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.()Sleep flies the wretch. (Dryden.)To fly the favors of so good a king. (Shak.)3. To hunt with a hawk.(Bacon.)4. To manage (an aircraft) in flight; as, to fly an aroplane.()To fly a kite (Com.), to raise money on commercial notes. [Cant or Slang]()n.[OE. flie, flege, AS. flge, flege, fr. flegan to fly; akin to D. vlieg, OHG. flioga, G. fliege, Icel. & Sw. fluga, Dan. flue. 84. See Fly, v. i.]1. (Zol.) Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings; as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly.()2. A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing.(Gay.)3. A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant.()A trifling fly, none of your great familiars. (B. Jonson.)4. A parasite.(Massinger.)5. A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse.()6. The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the union to the extreme end.()7. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.()8. (Naut.) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.(Totten.)9. (Mech.) Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.()10. (Knitting Machine) The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.(Knight.)11. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.()12. (Weaving) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.(Knight.)13. Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press.()14. The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof of the tent at no other place.()15. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.()16. The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.()17. (Baseball) A batted ball that flies to a considerable distance, usually high in the air; also, the flight of a ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly. Also called fly ball.()18. (Cotton Manuf.) Waste cotton.()Black fly, Cheese fly, Dragon fly, etc. See under Black, Cheese, etc. -- Fly agaric (Bot.), a mushroom (Agaricus muscarius), having a narcotic juice which, in sufficient quantities, is poisonous. -- Fly block (Naut.), a pulley whose position shifts to suit the working of the tackle with which it is connected; -- used in the hoisting tackle of yards. -- Fly board (Printing Press), the board on which printed sheets are deposited by the fly. -- Fly book, a case in the form of a book for anglers' flies. Kingsley. -- Fly cap, a cap with wings, formerly worn by women. -- Fly drill, a drill having a reciprocating motion controlled by a fly wheel, the driving power being applied by the hand through a cord winding in reverse directions upon the spindle as it rotates backward and forward. Knight. -- Fly fishing, the act or art of angling with a bait of natural or artificial flies; fishing using a fly{2} as bait. Walton. -- -- Fly fisherman, one who fishes using natural or artificial flies{2} as bait, especially one who fishes exclusively in that manner. -- Fly flap, an implement for killing flies. -- Fly governor, a governor for regulating the speed of an engine, etc., by the resistance of vanes revolving in the air. -- Fly honeysuckle (Bot.), a plant of the honeysuckle genus (Lonicera), having a bushy stem and the flowers in pairs, as L. ciliata and L. Xylosteum. -- Fly hook, a fishhook supplied with an artificial fly. -- Fly leaf, an unprinted leaf at the beginning or end of a book, circular, programme, etc. -- Fly maggot, a maggot bred from the egg of a fly. Ray. -- Fly net, a screen to exclude insects. -- Fly nut (Mach.), a nut with wings; a thumb nut; a finger nut. -- Fly orchis (Bot.), a plant (Ophrys muscifera), whose flowers resemble flies. -- Fly paper, poisoned or sticky paper for killing flies that feed upon or are entangled by it. -- Fly powder, an arsenical powder used to poison flies. -- Fly press, a screw press for punching, embossing, etc., operated by hand and having a heavy fly. -- Fly rail, a bracket which turns out to support the hinged leaf of a table. -- Fly rod, a light fishing rod used in angling with a fly. -- Fly sheet, a small loose advertising sheet; a handbill. -- Fly snapper (Zol.), an American bird (Phainopepla nitens), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. The male is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray. -- Fly wheel (Mach.), a heavy wheel attached to machinery to equalize the movement (opposing any sudden acceleration by its inertia and any retardation by its momentum), and to accumulate or give out energy for a variable or intermitting resistance. See Fly, n., 9. -- On the fly (Baseball), still in the air; -- said of a batted ball caught before touching the ground..()a. Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning.(Dickens.) (Bot.) A poisonous mushroom (Amanita muscaria, syn. Agaricus muscarius), having usually a bright red or yellowish cap covered with irregular white spots. It has a distinct volva at the base, generally an upper ring on the stalk, and white spores. Called also fly agaric, deadly amanita.()