fly-by

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablespecialist

   A close pass of a spacecraft past a planet or moon, made to study it without landing or orbiting.

   Grammar: Often written flyby in American English: a flyby of Jupiter.

   Patterns

   • a fly-by of something

   The probe made a fly-by of Neptune and sent back stunning images.

   Scientists planned a fly-by of the comet next spring.

2. 2nouncountable

   A low pass by aircraft over a place, often as a display at a ceremony or event.

   Grammar: British English often uses flypast for this sense.

   Patterns

   • a fly-by over something

   Jets performed a fly-by over the stadium before the game.

   The crowd cheered the fly-by at the air show.

Word forms

Common combinations

close fly-by

The probe made a close fly-by of the moon.

planned fly-by

The planned fly-by was delayed a week.

perform a fly-by

Two helicopters performed a fly-by.

fly-by mission

It was a fly-by mission, not a landing.

Synonyms and how they differ

flypast

Is the usual British word for the aircraft display sense only.

pass

Is more general and does not imply flying.

Word family

fly verb

to move through the air

flyover noun

a bridge, or in American use an aircraft display

Commonly confused: fly-by or fly-by-night?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fly-by”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words