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

The appellate judges found on Monday that this tactic, which bypassed confirmation by the US Senate, violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Read more on BBC

While OBR staff thought they had applied safeguards to prevent early publication, there were two errors in the way in which they were set up on the publishing platform WordPress that effectively bypassed these controls.

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For those living in a restrictive internet environment — whether due to government censorship, workplace firewalls or other restrictions — VPNs let you bypass blocks and access the entire internet.

Read more on Salon

Ukrainian officers said Rubicon focuses on midrange targets, usually at least 12 miles beyond the front line, bypassing Ukrainian infantry.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“I didn’t know that it was anything that would bypass any sort of verification,” said Alter, 43 years old, who splits his time between New York state and Canada.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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