1. [n]  (baseball) a hit that flies high in the air
2. [n]  two-winged insects characterized by active flight
3. [n]  an opening in a garment that is closed by a zipper or buttons concealed by a fold of cloth
4. [n]  fisherman's lure consisting of a fishhook decorated to look like an insect
5. [n]  flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent
6. [adj]  (British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked
7. [v]  decrease rapidly, as of money
8. [v]  change quickly from one emotional state to another; "fly into a rage"
9. [v]  transport by aeroplane; "We fly flowers from the Caribbean to North America"
10. [v]  hit a fly, in baseball
11. [v]  be dispersed or disseminated; "Rumors and accusations are flying"
12. [v]  travel in an airplane; "she is flying to Cincinnati tonight"; "Are we driving or flying?"
13. [v]  move quickly or suddenly; "He flew about the place"
14. [v]  travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft; "Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic"
15. [v]  cause to fly or float; "fly a kite"
16. [v]  travel through the air; be airborne; "Man cannot fly"
17. [v]  fly a plane
18. [v]  pass away rapidly; "Time flies like an arrow"; "Time fleeing beneath him"
19. [v]  to run away; "He threw down his gun and fled."
20. [v]  display in the air or cause to float; "fly a kite"; "All nations fly their flags in front of the U.N."

1. \Fly\ (fl[imac]), v. i. [imp. {Flew} (fl[=u]); p. p. {Flown}
   (fl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Flying}.] [OE. fleen, fleen,
   fleyen, flegen, AS. fle['o]gan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG.
   fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. flj[=u]ga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve,
   Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh.
   to L. pluma feather, E. plume. [root]84. Cf. {Fledge},
   {Flight}, {Flock} of animals.]
   1. To move in or pass thorugh the air with wings, as a bird.
   2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass
      or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.
   3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.
            Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
                                                  --Job v. 7.
   4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate
      rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around;
      rumor flies.
            Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race.
                                                  --Milton.
            The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on.
                                                  --Bryant.
   5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an
      enemy or a coward flies. See Note under {Flee}.
            Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight.   --Milton.
            Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? --Shak.
   6. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly
      or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door
      flies open; a bomb flies apart.
   {To fly about} (Naut.), to change frequently in a short time;
      -- said of the wind.
   {To fly around}, to move about in haste. [Colloq.]
   {To fly at}, to spring toward; to rush on; to attack
      suddenly.
   {To fly in the face of}, to insult; to assail; to set at
      defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct
      opposition to; to resist.
   {To fly off}, to separate, or become detached suddenly; to
      revolt.
   {To fly on}, to attack.
   {To fly open}, to open suddenly, or with violence.
   {To fly out}.
      (a) To rush out.
      (b) To burst into a passion; to break out into license.
   {To let fly}.
      (a) To throw or drive with violence; to discharge. ``A man
          lets fly his arrow without taking any aim.''
          --Addison.
      (b) (Naut.) To let go suddenly and entirely; as, to let
          fly the sheets.
   

2. \Fly\, v. t.
   1. To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite,
      a flag, etc.
            The brave black flag I fly.           --W. S.
                                                  Gilbert.
   2. To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.
            Sleep flies the wretch.               --Dryden.
            To fly the favors of so good a king.  --Shak.
   3. To hunt with a hawk. [Obs.] --Bacon.
   {To fly a kite} (Com.), to raise money on commercial notes.
      [Cant or Slang]
   

3. \Fly\, n.; pl. {Flies} (fl[imac]z). [OE. flie, flege, AS.
   fl[=y]ge, fle['o]ge, fr. fle['o]gan to fly; akin to D. vlieg,
   OHG. flioga, G. fliege, Icel. & Sw. fluga, Dan. flue. [root]
   84. See {Fly}, v. i.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings;
          as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly.
      (b) Any dipterous insect; as, the house fly; flesh fly;
          black fly. See {Diptera}, and Illust. in Append.
   2. A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing.
      ``The fur-wrought fly.'' --Gay.
   3. A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant. [Obs.]
            A trifling fly, none of your great familiars. --B.
                                                  Jonson.
   4. A parasite. [Obs.] --Massinger.
   5. A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for
      hire and usually drawn by one horse. [Eng.]
   6. The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes,
      the length from the ``union'' to the extreme end.
   7. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the
      wind blows.
   8. (Naut.) That part of a compass on which the points are
      marked; the compass card. --Totten.
   9. (Mech.)
      (a) Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a
          fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of
          machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the
          striking part of a clock.
      (b) A heavy wheel, or cross arms with weights at the ends
          on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the
          motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the
          power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome,
          is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining
          press. See {Fly wheel} (below).
   10. (Knitting Machine) The piece hinged to the needle, which
       holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is
       penetrating another loop; a latch. --Knight.
   11. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a
       spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.
   12. (Weaving) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or
       jerk. --Knight.
   13.
       (a) Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from
           the press.
       (b) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power
           to a power printing press for doing the same work.
   14. The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn
       over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof
       of the tent at no other place.
   15. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.
   16. The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers,
       overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.
   17. (Baseball) A batted ball that flies to a considerable
       distance, usually high in the air; also, the flight of a
       ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly.
   {Black fly}, {Cheese fly}, {Dragon fly, etc.} See under
      {Black}, {Cheese}, etc. -- {Fly agaric} (Bot.), a mushroom
      ({Agaricus muscarius}), having a narcotic juice which, in
      sufficient quantities, is poisonous. -- {Fly block}
      (Naut.), a pulley whose position shifts to suit the
      working of the tackle with which it is connected; -- used
      in the hoisting tackle of yards. -- {Fly board} (Printing
      Press), the board on which printed sheets are deposited by
      the fly. -- {Fly book}, a case in the form of a book for
      anglers' flies. --Kingsley.{Fly cap}, a cap with wings,
      formerly worn by women. -- {Fly drill}, a drill having a
      reciprocating motion controlled by a fly wheel, the
      driving power being applied by the hand through a cord
      winding in reverse directions upon the spindle as it
      rotates backward and forward. --Knight.{Fly fishing}, the
      act or art of angling with a bait of natural or artificial
      flies. --Walton.{Fly flap}, an implement for killing
      flies. -- {Fly governor}, a governor for regulating the
      speed of an engine, etc., by the resistance of vanes
      revolving in the air. -- {Fly honeysuckle} (Bot.), a plant
      of the honeysuckle genus ({Lonicera}), having a bushy stem
      and the flowers in pairs, as {L. ciliata} and {L.
      Xylosteum}. -- {Fly hook}, a fishhook supplied with an
      artificial fly. -- {Fly leaf}, an unprinted leaf at the
      beginning or end of a book, circular, programme, etc. --
   {Fly maggot}, a maggot bred from the egg of a fly. --Ray.
   {Fly net}, a screen to exclude insects.
   {Fly nut} (Mach.), a nut with wings; a thumb nut; a finger
      nut.
   {Fly orchis} (Bot.), a plant ({Ophrys muscifera}), whose
      flowers resemble flies.
   {Fly paper}, poisoned or sticky paper for killing flies that
      feed upon or are entangled by it.
   {Fly powder}, an arsenical powder used to poison flies.
   {Fly press}, a screw press for punching, embossing, etc.,
      operated by hand and having a heavy fly.
   {Fly rail}, a bracket which turns out to support the hinged
      leaf of a table.
   {Fly rod}, a light fishing rod used in angling with a fly.
   {Fly sheet}, a small loose advertising sheet; a handbill.
   {Fly snapper} (Zo["o]l.), an American bird ({Phainopepla
      nitens}), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. The male
      is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray.
   {Fly wheel} (Mach.), a heavy wheel attached to machinery to
      equalize the movement (opposing any sudden acceleration by
      its inertia and any retardation by its momentum), and to
      accumulate or give out energy for a variable or
      intermitting resistance. See {Fly}, n., 9.
   {On the fly} (Baseball), still in the air; -- said of a
      batted ball caught before touching the ground.
   

4. \Fly\, a.
   Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning.
   [Slang] --Dickens.
   

5. \Fly\, v. t.
   To manage (an aircraft) in flight; as, to fly an
   a["e]roplane.
   

6. \Fly\, n. (Cotton Manuf.)
   Waste cotton.
   

Heb. zebub, (Eccl. 10:1; Isa. 7:18). This fly was so grievous a pest that the Phoenicians invoked against it the aid of their god Baal-zebub (q.v.). The prophet Isaiah (7:18) alludes to some poisonous fly which was believed to be found on the confines of Egypt, and which would be called by the Lord. Poisonous flies exist in many parts of Africa, for instance, the different kinds of tsetse.

Heb. 'arob, the name given to the insects sent as a plague on the land of Egypt (Ex. 8:21-31; Ps. 78:45; 105:31). The LXX. render this by a word which means the "dog-fly," the cynomuia. The Jewish commentators regarded the Hebrew word here as connected with the word _'arab_, which means "mingled;" and they accordingly supposed the plague to consist of a mixed multitude of animals, beasts, reptiles, and insects. But there is no doubt that "the _'arab_" denotes a single definite species. Some interpreters regard it as the Blatta orientalis, the cockroach, a species of beetle. These insects "inflict very painful bites with their jaws; gnaw and destroy clothes, household furniture, leather, and articles of every kind, and either consume or render unavailable all eatables."