fly-by-night
[ flahy-bahy-nahyt ]
/ ˈflaɪ baɪˌnaɪt /
Save This Word!
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.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!
In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
Question 1 of 7
The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.
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. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for fly-by-night
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.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.