1
: a number of warships under a single command
specifically
: an organization of ships and aircraft under the command of a flag officer
2
: group sense 2a
especially
: a group (as of ships, planes, or trucks) operated under unified control
fleeted; fleeting; fleets
2
[fleet entry 2]
: to fly swiftly
clouds fleeting across the sky
3
obsolete
: drift
: to cause (time) to pass usually quickly or imperceptibly
many young gentlemen … fleet the time carelessly—
William Shakespeare
William ShakespeareSynonyms
Examples of fleet in a Sentence
Noun
He was the commander of the Pacific fleet.
The company has a large fleet of delivery trucks.
Adjective
a jewel thief said to be light of heart and fleet of foot
Recent Examples on the WebDavid Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2024
Southwest has long differentiated itself from other airlines with one class of seating and little variability – no extra legroom seats or first class on its 737 fleet.
—Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2024
Hertz had lofty goals to make 25% of its fleet electric by the end of 2024.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024
The mission of remaking Ukraine’s drone fleet has captivated Mr. Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Miami became a hotbed of U.S. intelligence operations focused on Castro’s Cuba, replete with fleets of small ships and airplanes.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The city has money to hire as many as nine additional employees to oversee programs such as services for the homeless, environmental sustainability, transportation coordination, and maintenance of the municipal vehicle fleet, Financial Services Director Jill Moya told the Oceanside City Council.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
So now the Russian fleet is hiding somewhere on the east of the Black Sea.
—Michael Levitt, NPR, 20 Apr. 2024
Michelle Kinman, the incubator’s senior vice president of market transportation, said the 250-unit fleet comprises 215 commuter bikes, 29 cargo bikes and six adaptive bikes, including tricycles.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Car rental companies divested themselves of many of their fleet cars in the early days of the pandemic, and were not able to quickly replenish them due to microchip shortages and supply chain problems among automakers.
—William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2023
Or lovers-to-be, for the bulk of its cheerfully fleet 82-minute runtime — not that Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia’s fast-talking script leaves us in any doubt as to their destiny from their first sweetly awkward meet-cute.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Mar. 2023
Some diehard Romantics might object that Hough is too fleet in his approach.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022
Building in predictive alerts to provide real time coaching is what is needed, and companies like Nauto are innovating rapidly in fleet predictive intelligence looking ahead vs analyzing statistics alone.
—Cindy Gordon, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021
Additionally, Ultium Charge 360 will help support home charging and provide non-fleet drivers access to more than 60,000 public places to charge.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 16 July 2021
During the orchestral prelude, Daniel Barenboim drew a crisp, clean and fleet performance from the players.
—New York Times, 13 Mar. 2020
Burns thinks his company can compete for a share of the electric vehicle market by being quicker to adjust to technology and by targeting commercial, fleet customers who want more than what conventional trucks can supply.
—BostonGlobe.com, 8 Nov. 2019
Amy Nicholson, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
The economic model targets fleeting attention spans, making layered artistry challenging.
—Anto Dotcom, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2023
Songs come on the radio and instantly transport you back to a specific summer and that unforgettable vacation, fleeting romance or questionable decision that came with it.
—Joey Morona, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
While the two-day sale unfolds over July 11 and 12, our entire team is taking advantage of the limited-time fashion deals, fleeting Apple tech discounts, and rare sneaker sales that make Prime Day an unofficial holiday.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 11 July 2023
City residents and artists feel a sense of loss knowing that the odds of a momentary sighting or fleeting run-in with Ms. Ono are now even lower, and some have started writing tributes to her time in New York in blogs and small outlets.
—Anna Kodé, New York Times, 21 July 2023
The costs Afghanistan is enduring because of his edicts have given rise to persistent rumors of splits within the government—and even, this year, some notable if fleeting public evidence of internal dissent.
—Steve Coll, The New York Review of Books, 1 June 2023
No detox is open for intake in the evening or on the weekends, limiting the sometimes fleeting windows for people seeking sobriety to get help.
—Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2023
The brothers are betting that their brand of versatile, distinctive pop music will win out over clever marketing strategies and fleeting social media fads.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2023
Noun
Sixty of those acres are planned to develop into a satellite distribution center and fleet services center, DeForest village administrator Bill Chang said.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2024
Southwest has long differentiated itself from other airlines with one class of seating and little variability – no extra legroom seats or first class on its 737 fleet.
—Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2024
Hertz had lofty goals to make 25% of its fleet electric by the end of 2024.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024
The mission of remaking Ukraine’s drone fleet has captivated Mr. Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google.
—David E. Sanger, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Miami became a hotbed of U.S. intelligence operations focused on Castro’s Cuba, replete with fleets of small ships and airplanes.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The city has money to hire as many as nine additional employees to oversee programs such as services for the homeless, environmental sustainability, transportation coordination, and maintenance of the municipal vehicle fleet, Financial Services Director Jill Moya told the Oceanside City Council.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
So now the Russian fleet is hiding somewhere on the east of the Black Sea.
—Michael Levitt, NPR, 20 Apr. 2024
Michelle Kinman, the incubator’s senior vice president of market transportation, said the 250-unit fleet comprises 215 commuter bikes, 29 cargo bikes and six adaptive bikes, including tricycles.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Her star-wattage smile sets the tone for the friendly, fleet front-of-house staff.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Car rental companies divested themselves of many of their fleet cars in the early days of the pandemic, and were not able to quickly replenish them due to microchip shortages and supply chain problems among automakers.
—William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 23 Aug. 2023
Or lovers-to-be, for the bulk of its cheerfully fleet 82-minute runtime — not that Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia’s fast-talking script leaves us in any doubt as to their destiny from their first sweetly awkward meet-cute.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Mar. 2023
Some diehard Romantics might object that Hough is too fleet in his approach.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022
Building in predictive alerts to provide real time coaching is what is needed, and companies like Nauto are innovating rapidly in fleet predictive intelligence looking ahead vs analyzing statistics alone.
—Cindy Gordon, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021
Additionally, Ultium Charge 360 will help support home charging and provide non-fleet drivers access to more than 60,000 public places to charge.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 16 July 2021
During the orchestral prelude, Daniel Barenboim drew a crisp, clean and fleet performance from the players.
—New York Times, 13 Mar. 2020
Burns thinks his company can compete for a share of the electric vehicle market by being quicker to adjust to technology and by targeting commercial, fleet customers who want more than what conventional trucks can supply.
—BostonGlobe.com, 8 Nov. 2019
Verb
Even in such small company, the two men contribute little more than fleeting comic relief.
—Amy Nicholson, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
The economic model targets fleeting attention spans, making layered artistry challenging.
—Anto Dotcom, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2023
Songs come on the radio and instantly transport you back to a specific summer and that unforgettable vacation, fleeting romance or questionable decision that came with it.
—Joey Morona, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
While the two-day sale unfolds over July 11 and 12, our entire team is taking advantage of the limited-time fashion deals, fleeting Apple tech discounts, and rare sneaker sales that make Prime Day an unofficial holiday.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 11 July 2023
City residents and artists feel a sense of loss knowing that the odds of a momentary sighting or fleeting run-in with Ms. Ono are now even lower, and some have started writing tributes to her time in New York in blogs and small outlets.
—Anna Kodé, New York Times, 21 July 2023
The costs Afghanistan is enduring because of his edicts have given rise to persistent rumors of splits within the government—and even, this year, some notable if fleeting public evidence of internal dissent.
—Steve Coll, The New York Review of Books, 1 June 2023
No detox is open for intake in the evening or on the weekends, limiting the sometimes fleeting windows for people seeking sobriety to get help.
—Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2023
The brothers are betting that their brand of versatile, distinctive pop music will win out over clever marketing strategies and fleeting social media fads.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fleet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fleet
Cite this Entry
“Fleet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fleet. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fleet
1 of 2 noun1
: a group of warships under one command
2
: a group of ships or vehicles that move together or are under one management
a fleet of taxis
a fishing fleet
fleet
2 of 2 adjective
: very swift
fleet of foot
fleetly
adverb
fleetness
noun
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