Flew is the past tense of the verb fly. When a bird takes off from a branch and soars through the air, you say it flew. When your family traveled by airplane last summer, you flew to your destination.

The word describes any movement through the air. A paper airplane flew across the classroom. A baseball flew over the fence for a home run. Leaves flew through the air during a windstorm. Superman flew faster than a speeding bullet.

People also use flew to describe moving very quickly, even on the ground. If you ran so fast that you flew down the hallway, you weren't actually airborne, but you moved with impressive speed. When time passes quickly because you're having fun, people say the hours flew by.

The word can express sudden movement or departure too. If your friend flew out the door when the bell rang, they left in a hurry. If someone flew into a rage, their anger appeared suddenly and intensely.

Remember that flew is irregular: you don't say “flied” (except in baseball, where a batter flied out when hitting a fly ball that gets caught). For everything else involving flight or flying, the past tense is always flew.