kite
kite — noun
- kitesingular
- kitesplural
1. A light toy with a frame and thin covering that people send up into the wind on
A light toy with a frame and thin covering that people send up into the wind on a string.
Amani ran across the beach until the red kite caught the wind.
collocation: kite caught the wind
Ilan tied a longer string to the kite before the school fair.
Renata helped her brother lift the kite above the field.
pattern: lift the kite above + place
Selim folded the kite carefully after the rain started.
Yumi bought a dragon kite at the night market by the river.
- fly a kite
- kite string
- kite tail
- dragon kite
- paper kite
A more specific kind of kite made with a light paper covering.
Grammar Patterns
fly a kite
kite + string
Usage Note
This sense usually refers to the toy itself, while the verb sense describes the activity of flying it.
Common Mistakes
2. A hawk-like bird with long wings that hunts small animals and often circles high
A hawk-like bird with long wings that hunts small animals and often circles high overhead.
Hugo watched a kite circle above the rice fields at noon.
pattern: a kite circle above + place
Sirin pointed to a kite carrying a fish over the harbor.
Christopher saw two kites drifting over the cliffs near the lighthouse.
Eliska photographed a kite as it dropped suddenly toward the grass.
pattern: a kite drop toward + place
Nikhil heard the chicks go silent when a kite passed overhead.
- red kite
- black kite
- kite overhead
- kite wings
Grammar Patterns
a kite circles overhead
a kite hunts small animals
Usage Note
Learners often meet this sense in bird names such as red kite or black kite, not as a general label for every hawk.
kite — verb
- kitepresent simple I / you / we / they
- kitesthird person singular
- kitedpast tense
- kiting-ing form
1. To send a kite up on a string, or to rise or move in a light, quick way.
To send a kite up on a string, or to rise or move in a light, quick way.
Sahil kited with his cousins on the hill after lunch.
intransitive: kite on + place
When the door opened, the plastic bag kited across the station floor.
figurative: move lightly across a surface
The gull kited above the boats while fishermen pulled in nets.
Our blue banner kited upward as the truck sped away.
pattern: kite upward
- kite upward
- kite across
- kite above
Grammar Patterns
kite on + place
kite + adverb/preposition
kite + object
Usage Note
Used literally for flying a toy, and more loosely for things that rise or stream lightly through the air. In the second use, the subject is often a bird, bag, scarf, or banner.
2. To obtain cash or credit by using a check that has no real funds behind it.
To obtain cash or credit by using a check that has no real funds behind it.
The cashier suspected that the customer was kiting checks between two banks.
finance: kiting checks between banks
Investigators found that the shop owner had kited thousands of dollars.
The company collapsed after executives spent months kiting bad checks.
pattern: kite + bad checks
Bank staff reported the broker for kiting funds through empty accounts.
- kite checks
- kite funds
- kite money
- defraud
A broader legal term; 'kite' names this particular check-based method.
Grammar Patterns
kite checks
kite funds
kite + money
Usage Note
This sense appears in finance and fraud cases. The object is usually checks, money, or funds, and the verb implies deliberate deception rather than a simple banking error.