n.
- a toy consisting of a light frame with thin material stretched over it, flown in the wind at the end of a long string.
▸Brit. informal, dated an aircraft.
- a long-winged bird of prey with a forked tail, which frequently soars on updraughts of air.
[Milvus milvus (red kite) and other species.]
- Geometry a quadrilateral figure having two pairs of equal adjacent sides, symmetrical only about one diagonal.
- informal a fraudulent cheque, bill, or receipt.
▸an illicit or surreptitious letter.
▸archaic a dishonest person.
- Sailing, informal a spinnaker.
v.
-
[usu. as noun kiting]
fly a kite.
▸fly; move quickly.
- N. Amer. informal write or use (a fraudulent cheque, bill, or receipt).
Phrase
-
(as)
high as a kite
informal intoxicated with drugs or alcohol.
Etymology
OE cȳta (in sense 2); prob. of imitative origin.