1
a
: moving or capable of moving in the air
b
: moving or made by moving rapidly
flying feet
a flying leap
c
: very brief
2
: intended for ready movement or action
a flying squad car
3
: having stylized wings
—used especially of livestock brand marks
4
: of or relating to the operation of aircraft
a flying club
5
: traversed or to be traversed (as in speed-record trials) after a running start
a flying kilometer
see also with flying colors
1
: travel by air
2
: the operation of an aircraft or spacecraft
Examples of flying in a Sentence
Adjective
a story about a flying car
a flying attempt at finishing the work
Noun
had never had the slightest fear of flying
Recent Examples on the Web
Leonard David, Space.com, 6 Jan. 2026
The priciest flying days are the ones just before Christmas and New Year’s Day.
—Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 23 Dec. 2025
Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
After maneuvering to the correct trajectory, Orion will detach from the SLS rocket’s upper engine and begin free flying.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flying
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Adjective
Chang'e 7 features an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a mini-flying probe or hopper, which together will tote to the moon a total of 18 scientific instruments.
—Noun
Originally built in the early 1990s as a variable in-flight simulator, the aircraft was reconfigured in 2021 by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Calspan to serve as a flying testbed for autonomy and machine-learning technologies.
—Cite this Entry
“Flying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flying. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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