flyby

noun

fly·​by ˈflī-ˌbī 

plural flybys

1

: a prearranged usually low-altitude flight by one or more airplanes over a public gathering (such as an air show)

2

a

: a flight of a spacecraft past a celestial body (such as Mars) close enough to obtain scientific data

b

: a spacecraft that makes a flyby

Examples of flyby in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, both of which have received dedicated missions like the Cassini probe and the Juno spacecraft, the outer planets have not received any visitors since the Voyager 2 flybys more than 30 years ago. —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2025

An asteroid known as 2025 TF zipped by Earth only 266 miles above Antarctica, the European Space Agency said, the second-closest such flyby on record − about the same altitude as the International Space Station's orbits. —Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025

During its first flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic water ice plumes erupting into space from the moon’s south pole. —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025

The plumes proved so thick with material, Khawaja explains, that the CDA would be overwhelmed during Cassini’s Enceladus flybys. —Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for flyby

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Kids Definition

flyby

noun

fly·​by -ˌbī 

plural flybys

1

: a usually low-altitude flight past a chosen place by one or more aircraft

2

a

: a flight of a spacecraft past a heavenly body (as Mars) close enough to obtain scientific information

b

: a spacecraft that makes a flyby