flyby
/ˈflaɪˌbaɪ/
"flyby" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“flyby” is uncommon English (frequency #53,551 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #53,551
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flight past a celestial object in order to make observations.
Corpus desk
Index EN-flyby · flyby · English
flyby · rank #53,551 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #53,551
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH Fonseca
Nearest frequency peer: Fonseca (+2 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “flyby”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- flapper
flapper
46,455 corpus weight
- flay
flay
46,454 corpus weight
- flyby
flyby
46,450 corpus weight
- Fonseca
Fonseca
46,448 corpus weight
- fortis
fortis
46,447 corpus weight
- foundries
foundries
46,446 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “flyby” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | flyby |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈflaɪˌbaɪ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #53,551 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “flyby” in English
Rare enough to double-check
flyby is uncommon English at frequency #53,551 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈflaɪˌbaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for flyby, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from fly by. The correct English form is flyby, spelled F-L-Y-B-Y.
Definition
- 1A flight past a celestial object in order to make observations.
- 2A low-level ceremonial flight, typically in connection with an airshow or a military parade.
- 3A brief visit.
- 4A sailby performed by a hydrofoil vessel while hydrofoiling.
- 5A three-dimensional animated sequence in which the camera moves past an object or scenery.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how flyby appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The upcoming flyby of Halley's comet is expected to provide new information on the nature of the comet.
Farthest from the dim red dwarf Ondeste, the ice dwarf Maisuth has attracted no interest beyond a cursory flyby by automated probe in 1874. No significant resources were noted.
Etymology
Deverbal from fly by.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "flyby"?
What does "flyby" mean?
How do you pronounce "flyby"?
What is the origin of the word "flyby"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flyby", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).