1
: one that seeks to evade responsibilities and especially creditors by flight
2
: one without established reputation or standing
especially
: a shaky business enterprise
1
: given to making a quick profit usually by shady or irresponsible acts
2
: transitory, passing
fly-by-night fashions
Examples of fly-by-night in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Raphael Orlove, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2025
Getty Images If the Chicago Cubs were a tradable security on the NASDAQ, the team’s stock would be more volatile than that of your typical gold/silver ETF or a fly-by-night tech startup.
—Andy Frye, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Meier emphasized the project is no fly-by-night operation.
—Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 22 July 2025
Labor groups see home building as the Wild West of construction, rife with fly-by-night contractors, wage theft and physical hazards.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 13 July 2025
Reporters crossed the region to visit these fly-by-night gambling parlors.
—Josh Salman, Miami Herald, 11 July 2025
The pop-up isn’t a fly-by-night grasp at sales for Rose, who now spends the majority of her time in the skier-and-hiker-friendly community.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 1 July 2025
Tim Gray, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2023
But now, allowing every fly-by-night oversees judgment-proof vendor to ship sales directly into American households is Customs anarchy.
—Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Lots of fly-by-night import shops sprang up, happy to rubber-stamp any Mercedes with a catalytic converter haphazardly welded under the floorboards.
—Raphael Orlove, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2025
Getty Images If the Chicago Cubs were a tradable security on the NASDAQ, the team’s stock would be more volatile than that of your typical gold/silver ETF or a fly-by-night tech startup.
—Andy Frye, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Meier emphasized the project is no fly-by-night operation.
—Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 22 July 2025
Labor groups see home building as the Wild West of construction, rife with fly-by-night contractors, wage theft and physical hazards.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 13 July 2025
Reporters crossed the region to visit these fly-by-night gambling parlors.
—Josh Salman, Miami Herald, 11 July 2025
The pop-up isn’t a fly-by-night grasp at sales for Rose, who now spends the majority of her time in the skier-and-hiker-friendly community.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 1 July 2025
Adjective
But even before that, AMPAS leaders tackled the issue of moviegoing, since the new fly-by-night entertainment had evolved into an industry.
—Tim Gray, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2023
But now, allowing every fly-by-night oversees judgment-proof vendor to ship sales directly into American households is Customs anarchy.
—Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Fly-by-night.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fly-by-night. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share