on the fly

phrase

1

: in motion : busy

2

: while still in the air : without the ball bouncing

The home run carried 450 feet on the fly.

3

: in a hurry and often without preparation : hastily, spontaneously

making decisions on the fly

4

: simultaneously with another task

software that handles formatting on the fly

Examples of on the fly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Smartwatches are great at keeping track of time, and for checking your text messages or switching songs on the fly by connecting to your phone. — George Yang, PC Magazine, 6 Oct. 2026

Suddenly a rock song might be built of modular units that could be rearranged, whether in composition or on the fly. — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026

And the cosmic radiation that Earth’s atmosphere filters out can scramble calculations, forcing systems to catch and correct errors on the fly. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026

Crashing Out With Kail follows the reality star on her tour and promises to feature hotel room chaos, green room tension, business decisions made on the fly and a relationship playing out in real time while seven kids wait at home. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for on the fly

• abscissae
• adonai
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi