fly by

verb

To pass or go past quickly, often without much interaction

“The rest of the day flew by quickly.”

Similar
go bypass byforpassforthglideovergopassroll onslip by
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Meanings

verbfly by (third-person singular simple present flies by, present participle flying by, simple past flew by, past participle flown by)

present singular third person flies by · participle present flying by · past flew by · participle past flown by

  1. idiomaticTo pass or go past quickly, often without much interaction

    The rest of the day flew by quickly.

    1 more example

    I like to sit and watch the world fly by.

    Synonyms: go by, pass by, go by, forpass, forthglide, overgo, pass, pass by

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fly, by.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo pass or go past quickly, often without much interaction

Similar
go bypass bygo byforpassforthglideovergopasspass byroll onslip bytranspass

More synonyms by meaning

verbmove by very quickly

Similar
zip bywhisk by
Broader
travel bypass bysurpass
Also see
go bypass by

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Dutch voorbijvliegen
  • voorbijvliegento pass quickly
Hungarian elrepül, elszalad
  • elrepülto pass quickly
  • elszaladto pass quickly
  • elröppento pass quickly
  • elszállto pass quickly
Polish mijać szybko, minąć szybko
  • mijać szybkoto pass quickly
  • minąć szybkoto pass quickly
Cite this entry
APA

fly by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fly%20by

MLA

“fly by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fly%20by. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fly by,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fly%20by.

Source: fly by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.