overfly

English

Etymology

From over- +‎ fly.

Verb

overfly (third-person singular simple present overflies, present participle overflying, simple past overflew, past participle overflown)

1. To fly over something.

   My family planned to take pictures from the ground as I overflew them in the hot air balloon.

   • 2017, Hernan Diaz, In the Distance, Daunt Books (2018), page 193:

     In the canopy, friendly birds (not the desperate, demented scavengers that sometimes overflew the plains) chirped and laboured on their nests.

2. To fly too far past something.

   The small size of the airstrip meant that pilots would frequently overfly and have to circle back.

Related terms

• flyover
• overflight

Translations

fly over something

French: survoler (fr) German: überfliegen (de) Italian: sorvolare (it) Portuguese: sobrevoar Spanish: sobrevolar (es)

fly too far past something

Anagrams

• fly-over, flyover