bypass

American  

[bahy-pas, -pahs] / ˈbaɪˌpæs, -ˌpɑs /

Or by-pass

noun

1. a road enabling motorists to avoid a city or other heavy traffic points or to drive around an obstruction.

2. a secondary pipe or other channel connected with a main passage, as for conducting a liquid or gas around a fixture, pipe, or appliance.

3. Electricity. shunt.

4. a surgical procedure in which a diseased or obstructed hollow organ is temporarily or permanently circumvented.

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verb (used with object)

bypassed, bypast, bypassed, bypast, bypassing

1. to avoid (an obstruction, city, etc.) by following a bypass.

2. to cause (fluid or gas) to follow a secondary pipe or bypass.

3. to neglect to consult or to ignore the opinion or decision of.

   He bypassed the foreman and took his grievance straight to the owner.

bypass British  

/ ˈbaɪˌpɑːs /

noun

1. a main road built to avoid a city or other congested area

2. any system of pipes or conduits for redirecting the flow of a liquid

3. a means of redirecting the flow of a substance around an appliance through which it would otherwise pass

4. surgery

   1. the redirection of blood flow, either to avoid a diseased blood vessel or in order to perform heart surgery See coronary bypass

   2. ( as modifier )

      bypass surgery

5. electronics

   1. an electrical circuit, esp one containing a capacitor, connected in parallel around one or more components, providing an alternative path for certain frequencies

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bypass capacitor

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verb

1. to go around or avoid (a city, obstruction, problem, etc)

2. to cause (traffic, fluid, etc) to go through a bypass

3. to proceed without reference to (regulations, a superior, etc); get round; avoid

bypass Scientific  

/ bī′păs′ /

1. A passage created surgically to divert the flow of blood or other bodily fluid or to circumvent an obstructed or diseased organ.

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Other Word Forms

• by-passer noun
• bypasser noun

Etymology

Origin of bypass

1840–50; apparently back formation from by-passage; by (adj.), passage ¹

Example Sentences

But the Endangered Species Committee has the power to bypass the law in the interest of national security or when there are no other alternatives to a project.

From BBC

If thousands of people waiting in TSA security lines could see them bypassing a problem they created, this nonsense would be over.

From The Wall Street Journal

Over 30 states and D.C. allow transfer-on-death deeds to bypass probate, though laws vary by jurisdiction.

From MarketWatch

It also follows a nascent U.S. effort to steer fuel and other commercial lifelines to Cuba’s small private sector while bypassing the state.

From The Wall Street Journal

You wash your hands, bypassing the paper towel dispenser, shaking the water off.

From Literature

Related Words

• circumvent
• ignore
• neglect
• omit
• sidestep
• skirt