fleet

The word “fleet” means a group of ships, vehicles, or aircraft operated together, especially under one owner or command. In plain terms, most often a group of vehicles or vessels owned/run together (a fleet of taxis); less commonly, an adjective meaning fast and light on your feet.

“Fleet” is pronounced FLEET (/ˈfliːt/ in IPA).

Here is “fleet” used in a sentence: “The company runs a fleet of delivery vans across the city.”

Depending on how it is used, “fleet” can be a noun, an adjective and a verb.

The word “fleet” comes from Old English. From Old English fleot ("ship, vessel"), related to fleotan ("to float"). The adjective sense ("swift") grew out of the same root, via the idea of gliding smoothly.

“Fleet” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Fleet” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a group of ships, vehicles, or aircraft operated together, especially under one owner or command.

A navy is a country's entire armed sea force, while a fleet is a group of ships operating together, often as one part of that navy. A navy can contain several fleets, and 'fleet' also applies to civilian vehicles or aircraft.

A fleet is a large group of ships or vehicles under one command, while a flotilla is a smaller group, often a subdivision of a fleet. Flotillas are typically made up of smaller vessels.

As an adjective, 'fleet' means moving quickly and lightly, as in 'fleet of foot.' This use is somewhat literary and far less common in everyday speech than the noun meaning of a group of ships.

Yes. Although 'fleet' often brings ships to mind, it applies to any group of vehicles or aircraft run together under one owner, such as a company's fleet of delivery trucks or an airline's fleet of planes.