Kite

/kaɪt/ · noun

Meaning

A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae..

Definitions by Sense

1. A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
2. (figuratively) A rapacious person.
3. A lightweight toy or other device, traditionally flat and shaped like a triangle with a segment of a circle attached to its base or like a quadrilateral (see sense 9), carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines.
4. A tethered object which deflects its position in a medium by obtaining lift and drag in reaction with its relative motion in the medium.
5. (astrology) A planetary configuration wherein one planet of a grand trine is in opposition to an additional fourth planet.
6. (banking, slang) A blank cheque; a fraudulent cheque, such as one issued even though there are insufficient funds to honour it, or one that has been altered without authorization.
7. (finance, slang) An accommodation bill (“a bill of exchange endorsed by a reputable third party acting as a guarantor, as a favour and without compensation”).
8. (cycling, slang) A rider who is good at climbs but less good at descents.

Example Sentences

A pair of kites built a nest on the cliff.

And yet the ſillie kight, well weyde in each degree, May ſerue ſometimes (as in his kinde) for mans commoditie. The kight can weede the worme from corne and coſtly ſeedes, The kight cã kill the mowldiwarpe, in pleaſant meads yͭ breeds: Out of the ſtately ſtreetes the kight can clenſe the filth, As mẽ can clẽſe the worthleſſe weedes frõ fruteful fallow tilth; […]

Monſieur de Sanſſac was appointed to attend vpon him [Francis I of France] with all ſorts of Haukes, wherein the ſaide Emperour ſemed to take great delight, eſpecially with flying at the Kight, which the French call Voler le Milan, […]

Kites flying aloft, ſhew Faire and Drie Weather. […] the Kite affecteth not ſo much the Groſſneſſe of the Aire, as the Cold and Freſhneſſe thereof; For being a Bird of Prey, and therefore Hot, ſhee delighteth in the Fresh Aire; And (many times) flyeth againſt the Wind, […]

I hope, that vile Carcaſs will firſt become a Prey to Kites and Worms.

deteſted kite, thou li[e]ſt[.] [M]y traine, and^([sic – meaning are]) men of choiſe and rareſt parts, that all particulars of dutie knowe, and in the moſt exact regard, ſupport the worſhip of their name, [...]

On windy spring days, we would fly kites.

What for do ye want to get baker's bread, aunt? This dough will rise as high as a kite in the south wind.

Synonyms for kite

Antonyms for kite

Related Words

Word Forms

• kites
• kight
• kyte
• kiting
• kited
• kite
• qite

Usage Notes

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