on the fly

phrase

1

: in motion : busy

2

: while still in the air : without the ball bouncing

The home run carried 450 feet on the fly.

3

: in a hurry and often without preparation : hastily, spontaneously

making decisions on the fly

4

: simultaneously with another task

software that handles formatting on the fly

Examples of on the fly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the cosmic radiation that Earth’s atmosphere filters out can scramble calculations, forcing systems to catch and correct errors on the fly. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026

Crashing Out With Kail follows the reality star on her tour and promises to feature hotel room chaos, green room tension, business decisions made on the fly and a relationship playing out in real time while seven kids wait at home. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026

In one section, Selinger muses about her time working at one famous restaurant, learning on the fly. — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 26 Sep. 2026

Throwing together a functioning school on the fly wasn’t cheap or easy, the school district said in the complaint. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for on the fly

• abscissae
• adonai
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi