Irregular verb
The verb to flee
flee → fled → fled
B2Meaning: to run away from danger; to leave quickly · Type: irregular
Key points to remember
- Present Simple:
I/you/we/they flee·he/she/it flees - Past Simple:
fled(ee → e) - Past participle:
fled(the same) - -ing form:
fleeing(keep both e's)
Conjugation of the verb to flee
Present Simple
| I | flee |
| You | flee |
| He / She / It | flees |
| We | flee |
| You (pl.) | flee |
| They | flee |
Past Simple
| I | fled |
| You | fled |
| He / She / It | fled |
| We | fled |
| You (pl.) | fled |
| They | fled |
All the forms of the verb to flee
Present Simple
Full pageflee / flees
“They flee the war.”
See the pagePresent Continuous
Full pageam / is / are fleeing
“I am fleeing from the storm right now.”
See the pagePast Simple
Full pagefled
“They fled the country.”
See the pagePast Continuous
Full pagewas / were fleeing
“I was fleeing from the storm when the phone rang.”
See the pagePresent Perfect
Full pagehave / has fled
“I have already fled from the storm.”
See the pagePast Perfect
Full pagehad fled
“She had already fled from the storm when I arrived.”
See the pageFuture Simple
Full pagewill flee
“I will flee from the storm tomorrow.”
See the pageGoing to Future
Full pageam / is / are going to flee
“I'm going to flee from the storm this weekend.”
See the pageConditional (would)
Full pagewould flee
“I would flee from the storm if I had time.”
See the pageHow to use to flee
1. Running away from danger
- They fled the war.
- He fled the country.
2. Escaping from something (figurative)
Here, flee means to try to get away from something that is not a place, like your past or a problem.
- She fled her past.
3. Disappearing (in poems and stories)
In poems and stories, things can flee too: The clouds fled. Here, flee means to disappear quickly.
- The shadows fled at dawn.
Common mistakes to avoid
1. Flee in everyday conversation
When you speak, say run away, escape or get away. Flee is for books, the news (flee the country) and history, or to make a story sound more serious.
2. Flee ≠ fly
These two verbs look alike. Flee /fliː/ means to run away. Fly /flaɪ/ means to move through the air (a plane, a bird). They sound very different. The past of fly is flew; the past of flee is fled.
What's next?
You can conjugate to flee. Now say it out loud.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple of flee?+
The Past Simple of flee is fled. The past participle is fled too. Flee → fled → fled. Some other verbs in -ee change the same way: feed → fed, bleed → bled, breed → bred.
What is the difference between flee and run away?+
Flee is formal. You find it in books and in the news, for serious situations like war or danger: They fled the war. Run away is everyday spoken English: The dog ran away.
Why is fleeing spelt with two e's?+
Verbs that end in -ee keep both e's before -ing: fleeing, seeing, agreeing, freeing. Compare hike → hiking: there, the single final e drops.
Where does the word refugee come from?+
Refugee does not come from flee. It is related to refuge (a safe place), from the Latin word refugium. Flee is an old Germanic word. A refugee is a person who leaves their country to escape war, danger or a disaster.
What is the difference between flee and escape?+
Flee means to leave a place quickly because of danger. Escape often means to get out of a closed place, like a prison. They fled the war. He escaped from prison.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/flee
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.