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Glite Dictionary
🪐 A close approach 👋 A brief visit ✈️ A passing show
flyby

flyby

2 4.2
A short visit to a place while passing through
  • noun
  • /ˈflaɪˌbaɪ/
  • Informal
translation icon : visita rápida
  • The last flyby was three months ago, and it was clear then.
  • made a flyby

I'll, I'll do a flyby here for more depth.

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Examples

  • I made a reconnaissance flyby of the prominence, skirting its edges, noting how it had swelled even in the few minutes I had been studying it.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • During her flyby, she took a moment to enjoy the view from the rooftop.

  • We're taking a flyby at the Brooklyn Bridge.

    The Bone Collector (1999)

  • What good is a flyby if we can't get Watney off the surface?

    The Martian (2015)

  • It is only a flyby mission, meaning that the spacecraft will not go into orbit around Pluto.

    Academic text (2004)

  • I will make a quick flyby at your place tomorrow to say hello.

  • The team planned a flyby tour of the historical sites during their trip.

Synonyms

layover
vsflyby
  • US
20 3.1

A short stay in a city between flights, often in an airport

is a brief informal stop while passing through, not a scheduled travel break
flying visit
vsflyby
  • UK
1 3.5

A short trip to see someone or something

is a short stop while passing through, often informal and quick

How Brief

flyby
  • Informal
2 4.2
stopover
11 3.2
to visit
∞ 1.0
to stay
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

flyby singular
flybys plural

Morphology

flyby = fly (transparent) = by + fly

Meaning is a direct compound of 'fly' + 'by' meaning to pass by quickly; learners knowing those words can infer a brief visit. [Postprocessing: moved 'by' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Flyby is simply fly + by, meaning 'fly past' or 'pass quickly'; imagine dropping in for a very short visit like someone who 'flies by' a party without staying long. So, a flyby is a quick, informal stop while you are passing through.