Meaning & use
kite
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Meanings
nouncountable
A light toy made of a frame covered in paper, cloth or plastic that rises in the wind while held by a long string.
Grammar: Often used with fly: fly a kite.
Patterns
- fly a kite
- a kite on a string
The children ran across the beach with their kite trailing behind them.
A red kite hung high above the hill on a windy afternoon.
He built a kite out of bamboo sticks and old newspaper.
nouncountablebiology
A bird of prey with long wings and a forked tail that glides on air currents.
Grammar: Takes an article: a kite, the kite; often named by color, as in red kite.
Patterns
- a red kite
A red kite circled above the farm, looking for small animals.
Kites had nearly disappeared from the area before they were reintroduced.
The kite glided without flapping once it caught the warm air.
verbtransitive or intransitiveAmericaninformallegal
To pass a check or other payment that cannot yet be covered by money in the account, in order to gain time or money dishonestly.
Grammar: Often used as kite a check, and the act is illegal.
Patterns
- kite a check
He was arrested for kiting checks between two bank accounts.
The owner kited payments for months before the business collapsed.
Kiting is a crime even if the money is later repaid.
Word forms
| plural | kites |
|---|---|
| third person singular | kites |
| past tense | kited |
| -ing form | kiting |
Common combinations
- fly a kite
- We took the kids to the park to fly a kite.
- a kite string
- She wound the kite string around a plastic handle.
- red kite
- A red kite is easy to spot by its forked tail.
- kite surfing
- He loves kite surfing when the wind is strong.
- go fly a kite
- Go fly a kite, I am busy!
- kite a check
- He tried to kite a check to cover the rent.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- kiting noun
- flying kites, or the illegal practice of passing checks with no funds
- kitesurfing noun
- a sport in which a person on a board is pulled by a large kite
- kiteflying noun
- the hobby of flying kites
Commonly confused: kite or kit?
kite vs kit
Kit means a set of equipment or a young fox or rabbit, so it is a different word from kite.
Practice
On a breezy day, the children went to the field to ____ a kite.
Choose one answer.
Fly is the verb that goes with a kite because it lifts in the wind. Throw, drive and swim do not describe how a kite is used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kite”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.