fly-by-night

[ flahy-bahy-nahyt ]

/ ˈflaɪ baɪˌnaɪt /

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See synonyms for: fly-by-night / fly-by-nights on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not reliable or responsible, especially in business; untrustworthy: a fly-by-night operation.

not lasting; brief; impermanent; transitory: a fly-by-night theater.

noun Also fly-by-nighter.

a person or thing that is unreliable, especially a debtor who evades or attempts to evade creditors.

a person regarded as a poor credit risk.

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Origin of fly-by-night

First recorded in 1790–1800

Words nearby fly-by-night

fly book, flyboy, flybridge, flyby, fly-by-light, fly-by-night, fly-by-wire, fly-cast, fly casting, flycatcher, fly-drive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fly-by-night in a sentence

People watch night soaps because the genre allows them to believe in a world where people just react off their baser instincts.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On Dec. 22, 1799, Sands told her cousins that she would be leaving to elope with a fellow boarder named Levi Weeks that night.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As of Thursday night, the brothers remained on the loose, last seen in northern France.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At the moment, the only chance I get is when I go do Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Are you bi-coastal now, between Portlandia and Late Night with Seth Meyers?
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The night wore on, and the clock downstairs was striking the hour of two when she suddenly awakened.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
Without preface, he abruptly asked, what had been told him of the Duke of Wharton's behaviour the preceding night.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Nevertheless the evening and the night passed away without incident.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
All along the highways and by-paths of our literature we encounter much that pertains to this "queen of plants."
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
While they were doing this, he assembled the officers around him, and the meaning of our night march was explained to us.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for fly-by-night

fly-by-night

/ informal /

adjective

unreliable or untrustworthy, esp in finance

brief; impermanent

noun Also: fly-by-nighter

an untrustworthy person, esp one who departs secretly or by night to avoid paying debts

a person who goes out at night to places of entertainment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for fly-by-night

fly-by-night

Shady or untrustworthy: “Before buying stock in a newly formed company, the prudent investor will check its owners' credentials to make sure it's not a fly-by-night operation.”

fly-by-night

Origin of fly-by-night

Words nearby fly-by-night

Words related to fly-by-night

How to use fly-by-night in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fly-by-night

Cultural definitions for fly-by-night