kite

/kait/

Thân thiện

A child flies a colorful kite in a park on a windy day.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A bird of prey: A kite is a type of bird, specifically a hawk, known for its graceful flight, long pointed wings, and diet of insects and small animals.
   • A toy flown in the wind: A kite is a lightweight toy, often made of a frame covered with paper or fabric, attached to a long string and flown in the air.
   • A fraudulent financial instrument: In finance, a kite is a bad or fraudulent check, such as one written with insufficient funds or altered to increase its value.

2. Verb:

   • To fly a kite: The action of launching and controlling a kite toy in the wind.
   • To soar or glide: To move through the air in a smooth, gliding manner, similar to a kite or a bird.
   • To obtain money fraudulently: To get credit or cash by using bad checks or engaging in check fraud.
   • To increase fraudulently: To alter a document, especially a check, to increase its monetary value illegally.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • We saw a red kite circling high above the field. (We observed the bird of prey.)
  • The child ran across the park to get her kite airborne. (The child ran to fly her toy.)
  • The accountant was fired for issuing a kite. (The accountant was fired for writing a bad check.)

• Verb:

  • On a windy day, we love to kite at the beach. (We love to fly kites.)
  • The glider managed to kite on the thermal currents for hours. (The glider soared like a kite.)
  • The scheme involved kiting checks between several bank accounts. (The scheme involved fraudulent check activity.)
  • He was arrested for kiting the amount on the money order. (He was arrested for altering the value.)

Advanced Usage

• "To fly a kite" (idiom): To suggest an idea or proposal to gauge public reaction.

  • The politician flew a kite about a new tax to see if it would be popular. (The politician tested public opinion on a new tax.)

• "Go fly a kite!" (idiom, informal): A rude way to tell someone to go away or stop bothering you.

  • He kept pestering me, so I finally told him to go fly a kite. (I told him to leave me alone.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kiting (gerund/noun): The act of flying a kite or the fraudulent practice of writing bad checks.
  • Kiting is a popular family activity. (Flying kites is popular.)
  • Bank kiting is a serious crime. (Check fraud is a serious crime.)

Synonyms

• Noun (toy): Flying toy, sail.
• Noun (bird): Hawk, bird of prey.
• Verb (fly): Soar, glide, sail.
• Verb (fraud): Defraud, swindle.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Kite" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its verbal uses are typically standalone.)

Related Idioms

• High as a kite: Behaving in a very excited, euphoric, or intoxicated manner.
  • After winning the lottery, he was as high as a kite. (He was extremely excited and happy.)
• Go fly a kite: See "Advanced Usage" above.

Học thuật

Noun

1. any of several small graceful hawks of the family Accipitridae having long pointed wings and feeding on insects and small animals
2. plaything consisting of a light frame covered with tissue paper; flown in wind at end of a string
3. a bank check drawn on insufficient funds at another bank in order to take advantage of the float
4. a bank check that has been fraudulently altered to increase its face value

Verb

1. fly a kite
   • Kids were kiting in the park
   • They kited the Red Dragon model
2. soar or fly like a kite
   • The pilot kited for a long time over the mountains
3. get credit or money by using a bad check
   • The businessman kited millions of dollars
4. increase the amount (of a check) fraudulently
   • He kited many checks