Definition of fly-by in English:
noun (plural fly-bys)
1A flight past a point, especially the close approach of a spacecraft to a planet or moon for observation.
- When Europe's comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta swings by Earth on 4 March 2005, it will perform the closest fly-by of our home planet ever conducted by ESA.
- The two close fly-bys of Saturn's moon Enceladus by the NASA / ESA / ASI Cassini spacecraft have revealed that it has a significant atmosphere.
- With each close fly-by of a planet, it receives an energy boost because of the planet's gravitational pull.
1.1 another term for fly-past.
- The flight to Fresno took 1.25 hours and when we got near the airport the photo work was over and everyone was once again in formation for a massed fly-by with landing lights on.
- There was everything from WWI aircraft cavorting through the sky to the massed roar of the mighty Polikarpovs to the Breitlings to individual and massed Warbird fly-bys and aerobatics.
- Since this was not a formal airshow, pilots took off and made fly-bys when they felt in the mood so a variety of aircraft were usually airborne.
Definition of fly-by in:
- US English dictionary
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