Meanings
plural flybys · alternative fly-by
- A flight past a celestial object in order to make observations.
The upcoming flyby of Halley's comet is expected to provide new information on the nature of the comet.
1 more example
Farthest from the dim red dwarf Ondeste, the ice dwarf Maisuth has attracted no interest beyond a cursory flyby by automated probe in 1874. No significant resources were noted.
2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Maisuth, Ondeste System - USA low-level ceremonial flight, typically in connection with an airshow or a military parade.
Two of your snot-nose jockeys did a fly-by on my tower at over 400 knots!
1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture), spoken by Air Boss Johnson - figurativelyA brief visit.
- nauticalA sailby performed by a hydrofoil vessel while hydrofoiling.
- computer graphicsA three-dimensional animated sequence in which the camera moves past an object or scenery.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Deverbal from fly by.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 飛掠 /飞掠
- 飛掠 /飞掠 (fēilüè)flight past celestial object
Finnish ohilento, ylilento
- ohilentoflight past celestial object
- ylilentoceremonial low-level flight
French survol
- survolflight past celestial object
German Vorbeiflug, Tiefflug
- Vorbeiflugflight past celestial object
- Tiefflugceremonial low-level flight
Italian volo ravvicinato, sorvolo
- volo ravvicinatoflight past celestial object
- sorvoloflight past celestial object
- passaggio ravvicinatoflight past celestial object
- sorvoloceremonial low-level flight
Malay lintas terbang
- lintas terbangflight past celestial object
Norwegian passering
- passeringflight past celestial object
Polish przelot, przelot
- przelotflight past celestial object
- przelotceremonial low-level flight
Russian пролёт, пролёт
- пролёт (proljót)flight past celestial object
- пролёт (proljót)ceremonial low-level flight
Spanish sobrevuelo, sobrevuelo
- sobrevueloflight past celestial object
- sobrevueloceremonial low-level flight
Turkish yanından geçme, alçaktan uçuş
- yanından geçmeflight past celestial object
- alçaktan uçuşceremonial low-level flight
Ukrainian пролі́т
- пролі́т (prolít)flight past celestial object
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with flyby
All rhymes →Cite this entry
flyby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flyby
“flyby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flyby. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flyby,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flyby.
Source: flyby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.