kite

Meanings

Plural: kite, kites

Noun

• a bank check that has been fraudulently altered to increase its face value
• a bank check drawn on insufficient funds at another bank in order to take advantage of the float
• plaything consisting of a light frame covered with tissue paper; flown in wind at end of a string
• any of several small graceful hawks of the family Accipitridae having long pointed wings and feeding on insects and small animals
• A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
• Any bird of the subfamily Milvinae, with long wings and weak legs, feeding mostly on carrion and spending long periods soaring; specifically, the red kite (Milvus milvus) and the black kite (Milvus migrans).
• A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
• A bird of the genus Elanus, having thin pointed wings, that preys on rodents and hunts by hovering; also, any bird of related genera in the subfamily Elaninae.
• A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
• Some species in the subfamily Perninae.
• A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
• A rapacious person.
• A lightweight toy or other device, traditionally flat and shaped like a triangle with a segment of a circle attached to its base or like a quadrilateral (see sense 9), carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines.
• A tethered object which deflects its position in a medium by obtaining lift and drag in reaction with its relative motion in the medium.
• A planetary configuration wherein one planet of a grand trine is in opposition to an additional fourth planet.
• A blank cheque; a fraudulent cheque, such as one issued even though there are insufficient funds to honour it, or one that has been altered without authorization.
• An accommodation bill (“a bill of exchange endorsed by a reputable third party acting as a guarantor, as a favour and without compensation”).
• A rider who is good at climbs but less good at descents.
• A polygon resembling the shape of a traditional toy kite (sense 3): a quadrilateral having two pairs of edges of equal length, the edges of each pair touching each other at one end.
• An aeroplane or aircraft.
• In a square-rigged ship: originally a sail positioned above a topsail; later a lightweight sail set above the topgallants, such as a studding sail or a jib topsail.
• A spinnaker (“supplementary sail to a mainsail”).
• The brill (Scophthalmus rhombus), a type of flatfish.
• A (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially one passed illegally into, within, or out of a prison.
• The stomach; the belly.
• A measure of weight equivalent to ¹⁄₁₀ deben (about 0.32 ounces or 9.1 grams).

Verb

• increase the amount (of a check) fraudulently
  • "He kited many checks"
• get credit or money by using a bad check
  • "The businessman kited millions of dollars"
• soar or fly like a kite
  • "The pilot kited for a long time over the mountains"
• fly a kite
  • "They kited the Red Dragon model"
• To cause (something) to move upwards rapidly like a toy kite; also (chiefly US, figuratively) to cause (something, such as costs) to increase rapidly.
• To tamper with a document or record by increasing the quantity of something beyond its proper amount so that the difference may be unlawfully retained; in particular, to alter a medical prescription for this purpose by increasing the number of pills or other items.
• To keep ahead of (an enemy) and repeatedly attack it from a distance, without exposing oneself to danger.
• To attack (an enemy) or otherwise cause it to give chase, so as to lead it somewhere (like a kite is led on a string), for example into a trap or ambush or away from its comrades or something it was protecting.
• To (cause to) glide in the manner of a kite (“bird”).
• To manipulate like a toy kite; also, usually preceded by an inflection of go: to fly a toy kite.
• To write or present (a cheque) on an account with insufficient funds, either to defraud or expecting that funds will become available by the time the cheque clears.
• To steal.
• To travel by kite, as when kitesurfing.
• To move rapidly; to rush.
• To deflect sideways in the water.
• To pass a (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially illegally, into, within, or out of a prison.

Synonyms

glede, soar