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

The mission will send four astronauts, three Americans and a Canadian, on a more than 600,000-mile, 10-day journey around the moon (a lunar flyby) to test critical spacecraft systems. —Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026

At the point of closest approach NASA estimates that the 32-72 foot-wide (10-22 meters) asteroid — designated 2026 EG1 — will be travelling at a blistering 21,513 miles per hour (34,621 kilometers per hour) relative to Earth and will swiftly pass us by, after performing a distant flyby of the moon. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2026

In 2019, a spacecraft made a high-speed flyby getting as close as 2,198 miles. —Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 26 Feb. 2026

Much of our understanding of Uranus comes from Voyager 2's flyby, which to date remains the only time a spacecraft has visited the planet, NASA says. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026

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