fly
gb/flˈaɪ/ us/flˈaɪ/
A1
English
~ 1000
repül, légy, repül az idő, repülőgépet vezet, slicc
VERB
A1
1
repül
A1
Usage pattern:
to fly [somewhere]
Birds fly south for the winter.
A madarak télire délre repülnek.
We will fly to New York tomorrow morning.
Holnap reggel New Yorkba repülünk.
The helicopter can fly over rough terrain easily.
Insects fly toward the light at night.
Pilots must learn how to fly in different weather conditions.
Learner examples
Birds can fly in the sky.
A madarak tudnak repülni az égen.
I will fly to London next week.
Jövő héten Londonba repülök.
Planes fly very fast.
Bees fly from flower to flower.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'fly' with 'drive' for planes; 'drive' is not used for aircraft.
Meaning
Travel through the air
Collocations
fly away
|fly over
|fly back
|fly high
|fly across
Synonyms
soar (Implies smooth, often upward flight, usually without much flapping.)
Antonyms
land (Opposite action of coming down to the ground after being in the air.)
Themes
travel
|transportation
|nature
|core_vocabulary
Definition
To move in the air, like a bird or in a plane.
To move through the air using wings or an aircraft.
NOUN
A1
2
légy
A2
A fly landed on my sandwich.
Egy légy rászállt a szendvicsemre.
Flies are attracted to garbage.
A legyeket vonzza a szemét.
There’s a fly buzzing around the kitchen.
The horse was bothered by flies all day.
Learner examples
A fly is on the table.
Egy légy van az asztalon.
Flies like sweet food.
A legyek szeretik az édes ételeket.
There is a fly in my room.
Meaning
Small winged insect
Collocations
fruit fly
|house fly
|fly swatter
Synonyms
housefly (Refers specifically to the common fly found in homes.)
Themes
nature
|daily life
|animals
Definition
A small insect with wings that can move quickly through the air.
A small insect with two wings that often flies around people, animals, and food.
VERB
A2
INFORMAL
3
repül
A1
Usage pattern:
to fly to [place]
We usually fly to Paris because it’s faster than taking the train.
Általában Párizsba repülünk, mert gyorsabb, mint vonattal menni.
She flew from Tokyo to Sydney last week.
Múlt héten Tokióból Sydney-be repült.
I prefer to fly at night when airports are less crowded.
Learner examples
I will fly to Spain in July.
Júliusban Spanyolországba repülök.
They flew to Canada last winter.
Tavaly télen Kanadába repültek.
We want to fly to Italy next summer.
Meaning
Go somewhere by plane
Collocations
fly direct
|fly first class
|fly economy
Synonyms
air travel (General term for traveling by air; not used as a verb.)
Antonyms
drive (Traveling by car instead of by airplane.)
Themes
travel
|transportation
Definition
To go somewhere on an airplane.
To travel as a passenger by airplane.
VERB
A2
4
repül
A1
Usage pattern:
to fly through [place]
The ball flew over the fence.
A labda átrepült a kerítésen.
Papers flew everywhere when the wind came in.
Amikor befújt a szél, a papírok szanaszét repültek.
The door flew open during the storm.
Learner examples
The ball flew into the garden.
A labda berepült a kertbe.
My hat flew away in the wind.
A kalapom elrepült a szélben.
The bird flew past my window.
Meaning
Move fast in the air
Collocations
fly past
|fly across the room
Synonyms
whiz (Informal; suggests a fast sound as something moves past.)
Themes
movement
|core_vocabulary
Definition
To move very fast in the air because of force.
To move quickly through the air, often without control, as if thrown or pushed.
VERB
B1
INFORMAL
5
repül az idő
B1
Time flies when you’re having fun.
Repül az idő, ha jól szórakozik az ember.
The holidays flew by too quickly this year.
Az ünnepek idén túl gyorsan elrepültek.
Summer always seems to fly by.
Learner examples
Time flies when we play games.
Repül az idő, amikor játszunk.
The day flew by at school.
Elrepült a nap az iskolában.
The week will fly by.
Meaning
Time goes by fast
Collocations
time flies
Synonyms
speed by (Informal; similar sense of rapid passage of time.)
Themes
time
|core_vocabulary
Definition
When time feels like it goes fast.
Used to say that time seems to go by very quickly.
VERB
B1
6
Usage pattern:
to fly [an aircraft]
She learned how to fly a plane in the Air Force.
A légierőnél tanult meg repülőgépet vezetni.
Only trained pilots can fly this type of jet.
Csak kiképzett pilóták vezethetik ezt a típusú sugárhajtású gépet.
He has been flying helicopters for over ten years.
Learner examples
I want to fly a plane someday.
Szeretnék egyszer repülőgépet vezetni.
He can fly a helicopter.
Tud helikoptert vezetni.
She will learn to fly an airplane.
Meaning
Pilot an aircraft
Collocations
fly a plane
|fly a helicopter
Synonyms
pilot (More formal; also used as a noun for the person operating an aircraft.)
Themes
transportation
|travel
Definition
To make an airplane go where you want it to go.
To operate and control the movement of an aircraft.
NOUN
B1
INFORMAL
7
slicc
B2
Your fly is open.
Nyitva van a slicced.
He zipped up his fly before leaving the restroom.
Felhúzta a sliccét, mielőtt kijött a mosdóból.
These jeans have a button fly instead of a zipper.
Learner examples
My fly is open.
Nyitva van a sliccem.
He closed his fly.
Behúzta a sliccét.
These pants have a button fly.
Meaning
Trouser zipper area
Collocations
zipper fly
Themes
clothing
|daily_life
Definition
The part at the front of pants with a zipper or buttons.
The opening at the front of trousers, usually covered by a flap and closed with a zipper or buttons.
Grammar
Dictionary form
fly
IPA
GB/flˈaɪ/
US/flˈaɪ/
Syllables & stress
fly (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (fly)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: fly
- Plural: flies
Verb
- Base: fly
- 3rd Person Singular: flies
- Present Participle: flying
- Past: flew, flied
- Past Participle: flown
Word family
Forms
flies
noun
flying
verb
flew
verb
flied
verb
flown
verb
Core family
flight
noun A2
Related words
flyer
noun B1
Negative and opposite forms
flightless
adjective
Highlights
- Irregular past participle: flown Verb
Expressions
fly blind
1/flˈaɪ blˈaɪnd/
idiom
informal
Act without needed information
To do something without enough information or guidance.
Examples
- We’re flying blind without proper market research.
- He felt like he was flying blind during his first week at work.
on the fly
1/ˈɔn ðə flˈaɪ/
idiom
informal
Do something quickly, without planning
To do something quickly while doing something else, without stopping or planning first.
Examples
- We had to make changes on the fly during the meeting.
- She cooked dinner on the fly after coming home late.
time flies
1/tˈaɪm flˈaɪz/
idiom
Time passes quickly
Time seems to go fast.
Examples
- Time flies when you’re busy at work.
- It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun.
fly high
1/flˈaɪ hˈaɪ/
idiom
be very successful or happy
To be very successful or feel very happy.
Examples
- Her career is flying high after her latest film.
- He's been flying high since he got promoted.
fly high
2/flˈaɪ hˈaɪ/
idiom
Be successful or happy
To be doing very well or feeling very happy.
Examples
- Her career is flying high after her recent award.
- They were flying high after winning the championship.
fly off the handle
1/flˈaɪ ˈɔf ðə hˈændəl/
idiom
informal
Become suddenly angry
To get angry very suddenly and strongly.
Examples
- He flew off the handle when he heard about the mistake.
- He flew off the handle when he heard about the delay.
- Don’t fly off the handle over something so small.
- Try not to fly off the handle over small problems.