Flown is the past participle of the verb “fly,” used to describe something that has traveled through the air. When a bird has flown south for the winter, it means the journey is complete. When you've flown to visit your grandparents, you took an airplane trip that's now finished. The word works with helping verbs like “has,” “have,” or “had”: “The pilot has flown this route hundreds of times.”

The word also describes something that moved quickly or seemed to pass rapidly. When time has flown by during recess, those minutes felt like they disappeared in an instant. People often say “time flies” when they're having fun, and afterward they might reflect that the afternoon has flown past before they knew it.

You might also see flown describing flags: “The flag was flown at half-mast” means someone raised it partway up the pole as a sign of respect or mourning. Similarly, when people talk about colors being flown by a ship, they mean which country's flag it's displaying.