fleet v. i. [imp. & p. p. fleeted; p. pr. & vb. n. fleeting.]
1. To sail; to float. [Obs.]
And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet. --Spenser.
2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance.
All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . .
Dissolved on earth, fleet hither. --Milton.
3. Naut. To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; -- said of a cable or hawser.
4. Naut. To move or change in position; -- said of persons; as, the crew fleeted aft.
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Fleet·ing, a. Passing swiftly away; not durable; transient; transitory; as, the fleeting hours or moments.
Syn: -- Evanescent; ephemeral. See Transient.
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fleeting
adj : lasting for a markedly brief time; "a fleeting glance";
"fugitive hours"; "rapid momentaneous association of
things that meet and pass"; "a momentary glimpse" [syn:
fugitive, momentaneous, momentary]