From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, 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. Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.

• IPA: /fliː/

flee (flees, present participle fleeing; simple past and past participle fled)

1. (intransitive) To run away; to escape.

   The prisoner tried to flee, but was caught by the guards.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Proverbs 28:1 ↗:

     The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bolde as a lyon.

2. (transitive) To escape from.

   Many people fled the country as war loomed.

   Thousands of people moved northward trying to flee the drought.

3. (intransitive) To disappear quickly; to vanish.

   Ethereal products flee once freely exposed to air.

• flight

• French: s'enfuir, prendre la fuite
• German: fliehen, flüchten
• Italian: fuggire
• Portuguese: escapar, fugir
• Russian: убега́ть
• Spanish: huir

• French: fuir, échapper
• German: fliehen, entfliehen, flüchten
• Portuguese: escapar de, fugir de
• Russian: убега́ть
• Spanish: huir

• Portuguese: sumir
• Russian: улету́чиваться
• Spanish: desvanecerse