flyby

noun

fly·​by ˈflī-ˌbī How to pronounce flyby (audio)
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 Four astronauts in the Artemis II mission will now make a planned flyby in 2025. Harold Maass, The Week Us, theweek, 10 Jan. 2024 Earlier this month, NASA's Juno orbiter conducted its closest flyby yet of the moon for an up-close view of its volcanic activity. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024 Its seventh and final Venus flyby is set for November 2024. Rebecca Boyle, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024 The recent flyby came during Juno’s 57th orbit around Jupiter. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024 Juno will make another close flyby of Io on February 3, 2024, and this will allow scientists to compare changes on the moon's surface over a short period of time. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Jan. 2024 These observations add to astronomers’ steadily growing understanding of Io, which was first photographed up close during a 1979 flyby of Voyager 1, which revealed the world was volcanic. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 Marking the second flyby of Jupiter's scorching moon in the last 22 years, NASA's orbiter came within about 930 miles of Io and captured two twin volcanic plumes spewing into space from the moon's surface. Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 7 Feb. 2024 Björn Jónsson has done just that for the most recent flyby of Io, producing the amazing image in this post. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 6 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flyby.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flyby was in 1953

Dictionary Entries Near flyby

Cite this Entry

“Flyby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flyby. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

flyby

noun
fly·​by -ˌbī How to pronounce flyby (audio)
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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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