Fleet
noun/adjective
Definition
1. (noun) A group of vehicles, ships, or aircraft operating together under the same ownership or command.
2. (adjective) Moving quickly and lightly — fast and nimble.
2. (adjective) Moving quickly and lightly — fast and nimble.
Context Alive
You're stuck in traffic on the motorway and a whole row of white delivery vans passes by in the outside lane, all with the same company logo on the side. Your friend counts them — twelve vans in a row. "That's a serious fleet," he says. You watch the last one disappear ahead of you while you haven't moved an inch.
Meanings
2 meanings 1 A Group of Vehicles, Ships, or Aircraft (Noun) Very Common ▼
This meaning is about a collection of vehicles, ships, or planes that belong to the same organisation or operate together. Imagine a shipping company that owns forty cargo ships moving goods across the Atlantic — that's their fleet. This is describing a group of transport units managed as one unit. You might say "the company expanded its fleet" when a delivery business buys more vans, or someone could say "the navy deployed its fleet" when warships are sent to a region. Or think about an airline announcing it's adding ten new planes to its fleet — every aircraft they operate counts as part of it. The word implies organisation, ownership, and scale.
✏️ Fleet originally referred to groups of ships — especially naval ones — but today it's just as commonly used for trucks, vans, taxis, buses, and aircraft. Fleet management is a whole industry: tracking, maintaining, and scheduling vehicles for businesses. You'll also hear a fleet of used loosely for any large group moving together: "a fleet of drones."
2 Fast and Nimble (Adjective) Low ▼
This meaning is about moving quickly and lightly — being fast on your feet or graceful in motion. Imagine watching a deer in a forest — one moment it's standing still, the next it's gone, fleet and silent through the trees. This is describing speed combined with lightness rather than raw power. You might read "fleet-footed" in a sports article to describe a player who is quick and agile, or someone could write "the cat was fleet across the rooftops" to describe smooth, fast movement. Or think about a runner who seems to barely touch the ground — their movement is fleet rather than heavy. The word suggests elegance and ease in speed.
✏️ This adjective use is literary and uncommon in everyday speech — you're more likely to encounter it in books, poetry, or the compound fleet-footed, which appears in sports commentary and mythology (Hermes is often described as fleet-footed). In casual conversation, people just say "fast" or "quick."
Common Patterns
Basic Structures
a fleet of + noun (ships / vans / aircraft) → the standard pattern — specifying what type of vehicles make up the group
The company operates a fleet of 200 delivery trucks across the country.
expand / grow / reduce the fleet → used when an organisation changes the size of its vehicle group
The airline plans to expand its fleet by adding 15 new aircraft next year.
fleet management → the business of organising, maintaining, and tracking a group of vehicles
She works in fleet management for a logistics company.
Common Structures
deploy / send a fleet → to dispatch a group of ships or vehicles to a location or task
The navy deployed a fleet of warships to the region.
fleet-footed → a compound adjective meaning fast and agile on one's feet
The fleet-footed striker dodged three defenders and scored.
the entire / whole fleet → emphasises that every single vehicle or vessel in the group is included
A software update was rolled out to the entire fleet of company cars.
Collocations
10 collocationsa fleet of ships / vehicles / vans
a group of transport units belonging to the same organisation
fleet management
the system of organising, maintaining, and tracking company vehicles
naval fleet
a group of warships operated by a country's navy
expand the fleet
to increase the number of vehicles or vessels in operation
deploy a fleet
to send a group of ships or vehicles to carry out a task
fleet operator
a company or person responsible for running a group of vehicles
fleet-footed
quick and agile — fast on your feet
fishing fleet
a group of boats used for commercial fishing
the entire fleet
every single vehicle or vessel in the group, with no exceptions
fleet size
the total number of vehicles or vessels an organisation operates
Example Sentences
10 examples
1
The delivery company has a fleet of over 300 electric vans across the UK.
The delivery firm operates more than 300 electric vans spread across the country.
2
The navy sent its entire fleet to patrol the waters near the disputed islands.
All of the navy's warships were deployed to guard the sea around the contested territory.
3
The airline is adding ten new planes to its fleet to meet growing demand.
The carrier is buying ten additional aircraft because more passengers are flying.
4
She manages a fleet of taxis in the city centre and handles all the scheduling.
She's responsible for running a group of cabs in the city and organising all the shifts.
5
A fleet of fishing boats left the harbour before sunrise.
A group of fishing vessels headed out of the port before the sun came up.
6
The government replaced its ageing fleet of buses with modern low-emission models.
The old public buses were swapped out for new, cleaner vehicles by the government.
7
The fleet-footed winger sprinted past two defenders and crossed the ball perfectly.
The quick and agile attacker raced past two opponents and delivered a perfect cross.
8
The company's fleet of drones can deliver packages to remote areas within hours.
The firm's group of drones is capable of getting parcels to hard-to-reach places in just a few hours.
9
Spain's fleet was one of the most powerful in Europe during the sixteenth century.
Spain's navy was among the strongest on the continent during the 1500s.
10
He moved with fleet steps across the stage, barely making a sound.
He crossed the stage quickly and lightly, almost completely silent.
Synonyms & Antonyms
6 items
Synonymsconvoy
a group of vehicles or ships travelling together, often with protection — more about the journey than ownership
armada
a large fleet of warships — grander in scale and typically historical or military
swift
for the adjective sense — fast and smooth, similar to fleet but more common in everyday speech
Antonymssingle vessel
the opposite of a group — one ship or vehicle operating alone
sluggish
for the adjective sense — slow and heavy, the opposite of fleet's quick, light movement
clumsy
lacking the grace and agility that fleet implies