flying

adj. & n.
—adj.
1 fluttering or waving in the air; hanging loose.
2 hasty, brief (a flying visit).
3 designed for rapid movement.
4 (of an animal) able to make very long leaps by using winglike membranes etc.
—n. flight, esp. in an aircraft.
Phrases and idioms:
flying boat a seaplane with a boatlike fuselage. flying bomb a pilotless aircraft with an explosive warhead. flying buttress a buttress slanting from a separate column, usu. forming an arch with the wall it supports. flying doctor a doctor (esp. in a large sparsely populated area) who visits distant patients by aircraft. flying fish any tropical fish of the family Exocoetidae, with winglike pectoral fins for gliding through the air. flying fox any of various fruit-eating bats esp. of the genus Pteropus, with a fox-like head. flying lemur either of two mammals of the genus Cyanocephalus of S. Asia, with a lemur-like appearance and having a membrane between the fore and hind limbs for gliding from tree to tree. flying lizard any lizard of the genus Draco, having membranes on elongated ribs for gliding. flying officer the RAF rank next below flight lieutenant. flying phalanger any of various phalangers having a membrane between the fore and hind limbs for gliding. flying picket an industrial picket that can be moved rapidly from one site to another, esp. to reinforce local pickets. flying saucer any unidentified, esp. circular, flying object, popularly supposed to have come from space. flying squad a police detachment or other body organized for rapid movement. flying squirrel any of various squirrels, esp. of the genus Pteromys, with skin joining the fore and hind limbs for gliding from tree to tree. flying start
1 a start (of a race etc.) in which the starting-point is passed at full speed.
2 a vigorous start giving an initial advantage. flying wing an aircraft with little or no fuselage and no tailplane. with flying colours with distinction.