Fleet

·vt To draw apart the blocks of;

— said of a tackle.

II. Fleet ·vi To take the cream from; to Skim.

III. Fleet ·vi Light; superficially thin; not penetrating deep, as soil.

IV. Fleet ·vt To hasten over; to cause to pass away lighty, or in mirth and joy.

V. Fleet ·noun & ·adj To Sail; to Float.

VI. Fleet ·vt To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass, as a rope or chain.

VII. Fleet ·vt To pass over rapidly; to skin the surface of; as, a ship that fleets the gulf.

VIII. Fleet ·add. ·vi To move or change in position;

— said of persons; as, the crew fleeted aft.

IX. Fleet ·vi A former prison in London, which originally stood near a stream, the Fleet (now filled up).

X. Fleet ·vi Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in going from place to place; nimble.

XI. Fleet ·add. ·vt To move or change in position; used only in special phrases; as, of fleet aft the crew.

XII. Fleet ·noun & ·adj To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass;

— said of a cable or hawser.

XIII. Fleet ·vi A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, ·etc.

XIV. Fleet ·noun & ·adj To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to Hasten; to flit as a light substance.

XV. Fleet ·vi A flood; a creek or inlet; a bay or estuary; a river;

— obsolete, except as a place name, — as Fleet Street in London.