bypass

Or by-pass

[bahy-pas, -pahs]

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

/ 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

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

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

• bypasser noun
• by-passer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bypass¹

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

Example Sentences

Yann Roubert, the head of the French club game, said, external on Wednesday that "you don't build a sport by bypassing those who build it".

Read more on BBC

The platform links families directly with care providers to set hours and pay, bypassing agencies like the one he once owned.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When Arab leaders saw the final version of the plan, they were surprised to find it had bypassed many of their changes and featured a number of amendments that they opposed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He was able to bypass the safety measures which were already in place by saying that the details were for a story he was writing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the company, which is being sued by Leavenworth, wants to bypass permitting required by the city and open the facility, as it did in California City.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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