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
This is 28 seconds longer than the previous estimate, which was made by NASA's Voyager 2 probe during its flyby of the ice giant planet back in 1986.
—
Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Despite being labeled by NASA as potentially hazardous due to its size and proximity to Earth's orbit, Saturday's flyby poses no risk to our planet, Virtual Telescope Project founder and astronomer Gianluca Masi told Space.com in an email.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025
The unit also did a flyby over Paris during the France segment of the 2020 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
The European Space Agency’s Hera mission has made history by capturing detailed images of Mars and its smallest moon, Deimos, during a flyby on Wednesday, March 12.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
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Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Despite being labeled by NASA as potentially hazardous due to its size and proximity to Earth's orbit, Saturday's flyby poses no risk to our planet, Virtual Telescope Project founder and astronomer Gianluca Masi told Space.com in an email.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 4 Apr. 2025
The unit also did a flyby over Paris during the France segment of the 2020 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
The European Space Agency’s Hera mission has made history by capturing detailed images of Mars and its smallest moon, Deimos, during a flyby on Wednesday, March 12.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flyby
Cite this Entry
“Flyby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flyby. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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