flyby

American  

[flahy-bahy] / ˈflaɪˌbaɪ /

Or fly-by

noun

• flybys
  plural

1. the flight of a spacecraft close enough to a celestial object, as a planet, to gather scientific data.

2. Aeronautics.

   1. Also called flypast.  a low-altitude flight of an aircraft for the benefit of ground observers.

   2. flyover.

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flyby British  

/ ˈflaɪˌbaɪ /

noun

1. a flight past a particular position or target, esp the close approach of a spacecraft to a planet or satellite for investigation of conditions

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• flybys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flyby

1950–55, noun use of verb phrase fly by

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flyby flybys

The flyby has been a feature at major sporting and presidential events in South Africa several times over the years - using both military jets and commercial airlines.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

This week, the Post reported that shortly before he was fired, George had been warned to stop investigating an Army helicopter flyby outside Kid Rock’s house in Tennessee.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026

The research is the first scientific study to incorporate observations collected during Hera's flyby of Deimos.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Before we do a “House of the Dragon” flyby to examine its place in high fantasy’s conquest of TV and film, let’s talk about Sheepstealer.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

The flyby is on Sol 549, so I'll need to leave by 449.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Aerial flybys revealed somewhere between 700-1,110 structures have been lost since the fires broke out over the weekend, authorities said, with anxious families awaiting news about when they could return.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

Although Asteroid 2025 TF never posed a threat, flybys like this one highlight how dynamic and watchful our solar neighborhood is.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2025

“Juno had two really close flybys of Io during Juno’s extended mission,” Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, the mission’s principal investigator, said in a statement.

From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2025

It needed to make nine flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury before it could reach the right speed to be captured by Mercury's gravity.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2025

To get there, the spacecraft has to follow a circuitous flight path that so far has included a swing around Earth, two Venus flybys, and three passes by Mercury.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 3, 2024