fly a kite

Meanings

1. 1phraseintransitive

   to make a light frame with paper or cloth rise and move in the wind on a long string

   Grammar: No object; the thing that goes up is the kite, so you say 'fly a kite', not 'fly the wind'.

   Patterns

   • fly a kite
   • fly kites

   The children went to the park to fly a kite on the windy afternoon.

   It's hard to fly a kite when there is no wind at all.

   He taught his little sister how to fly a kite without letting go of the string.

2. 2phraseintransitivefigurative

   to suggest an idea or plan just to see how people react, without being serious about it

   Grammar: Used figuratively; often in the continuous form to show that the action is temporary or exploratory.

   Patterns

   • be flying a kite
   • fly a kite about something

   The manager was just flying a kite when she mentioned moving the office; nothing has been decided.

   Some say the government is flying a kite to test public opinion before the election.

   Don't take his proposal seriously—he's only flying a kite.

Common combinations

fly a kite in the park

We used to fly a kite in the park every Sunday.

a windy day to fly a kite

It was a perfect, windy day to fly a kite.

fly a kite high

The kite flew high above the trees.

just flying a kite

I'm just flying a kite—tell me what you think.

Synonyms and how they differ

test the waters

This also means to try something cautiously to see if it is acceptable, but it is used for actions or proposals, not for a literal kite.

Word family

kite noun

the light frame that flies in the wind

kite flying noun

the activity of flying kites

Commonly confused: fly a kite or fly a plane?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fly a kite”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words