Definitions

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a flight at a low altitude (usually of military aircraft) over spectators on the ground

Etymologies

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Examples

  • From the fly-by perspective, your nose is a mountain, even a volcano that erupts from time to time.

    The Bushman Way of Tracking God PhD Bradford Keeney 2010

  • "We call it a fly-by," says Jon Clarke, the Northampton center.

    Flying into the record books Jonathan Clegg 2011

  • Oh, he gave a birthday cake to John McCain, then did a fly-by at 5,000 feet in Air Force One.

    Think Progress » Despite Opposing Withdrawal From Iraq, Cheney Takes Credit For Withdrawal Success 2010

  • He would opt off ship at Saturn Station or maybe the Uranus fly-by.

    CYCLES • by Stephen V. Ramey 2010

  • The fly-by of 2005 YU55 offers astronomers an opportunity to rehearse their target acquisition and tracking techniques, in the event that an asteroid is ever discovered on a collision course with Earth.

    Asteroid to Just Squeeze Past Earth Robert Lee Hotz 2011

  • A number of recent events with flight software and cockpit systems interference leads me to believe these two industries are not too dissimilar when it comes to keeping up with and managing the risks of complicated fly-by or drive-by-wire technologies.

    Christine Negroni: Wing Cracks and Cars That Won't Stop Christine Negroni 2012

  • You can't build any sort of intimacy or loyality out of fly-by visits.

    Doctor Who Easter Special...Reaction Post! SPOILERS! rabid1st 2009

  • So: a response to the agitprop rhetoric of the "homosexual agenda"; responses to two personal attacks -- a fly-by commenter and a piece of hate-mail; various responses to a fellow writer's homophobic bullshit regarding GLAAD and Syfy; attacks on segregation in the media as evidenced in Hollywood movies; numerous commentaries on the conflict between art and morality, both "liberal" (see the cultural appropriation posts) and "conservative" (see the profanity posts).

    Save Kiana Firouz Hal Duncan 2010

  • Extra geektoid: Monday's fly-by was at 24,000 mph.

    Budget Battles, Mideast Action, Apple Drama 2011

  • They include Michael McCarty 's, which famously imports Graeter's ice cream direct from Ohio, and Cucina, an Italian restaurant-nightclub where "Modern Family" actress Sofia Vergara was spotted on a fly-by visit last week.

    Crawfish and Pandas at Palm Beach Bash Marshall Heyman 2012

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