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

That flyby puts the asteroid at the same approximate altitude as the International Space Station. —Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 3 Oct. 2025

Tthe team of researchers turned to observations made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2008 during a close flyby of Enceladus to find new evidence. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 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

Cassini’s speed during E5 was nearly 18 kilometers per second (km/s)—about 6 km/s faster than most other flybys—which translated into massive improvements in the CDA data. —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