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Synonyms

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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bypass Scientific  
/ bīpăs′ /
  1. A passage created surgically to divert the flow of blood or other bodily fluid or to circumvent an obstructed or diseased organ.


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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But the ICO said the platform relied on asking users to declare their age when opening an account - a technique it said was "easy to bypass".

From BBC

The department is said to be looking at Netflix’s historic business strategy of steering most of its film releases to its streaming platform, often bypassing movie theaters.

From Los Angeles Times

Binance said this was a “standard measure to preserve investigative integrity, not to bypass controls,” and that the account was mislabeled as “internal” by a junior employee.

From The Wall Street Journal

Any viruses that bypassed this first layer of defense were quickly confronted by a rapid adaptive response.

From Science Daily

However, some oil may bypass the containment and there is still some oil present in upstream watercourses.

From BBC