“fled” is a form of
flee
/ˈfliː/ verb
Also a form of flay
Forms flees fleeing fled fleed
- verb (intransitive) To run away; to escape. “The prisoner tried to flee, but was caught by the guards.”
- verb (transitive) To escape from. “Many people fled the country as war loomed.”
- verb (intransitive) To disappear quickly; to vanish; to fleet. “Ethereal products flee once freely exposed to air.”
Synonyms
run for it abscond absquatulate amscray beat a retreat beat it beat feet blow this popsicle stand bolt book it dine and dash do a bunk do a flit do a moonlight flit do a runner fly the coop jump gas and dash get lost get out fly take flight
Etymology
From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, from Proto-West Germanic *fleuhan, 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 (þliuhan). Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To run away, as from danger or evil; to avoid in an alarmed or cowardly manner; to hasten off; --usually with from. This is sometimes omitted, making the verb transitive.
Etymology [OE. fleon, fleen, AS. fleón (imperf. fleáh); akin to D. vlieden, OHG. & OS. fliohan, G. fliehen, Icel. fl (imperf. fl), Dan. flye, Sw. fly (imperf. flydde), Goth. pliuhan. (Flight.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “flee”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details