flee

Pronunciation: /ˈfliː/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb run away quickly

Etymology

From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, from Proto-West Germanic *fleuhan, from Proto-Germanic *fleuhaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewk-, *plew- (“to fly, flow, run”). Cognate with Dutch vlieden, German fliehen, Icelandic flýja, Swedish fly, Gothic 𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þliuhan). Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.

In classic literature

Synonyms

fly, take flight

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
scat
Narrower (hyponyms)
high-tail, break, abscond, elope, defect, escape

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