pass by
Britishverb
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(intr) to go or move past
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(tr, adverb) to overlook or disregard
to pass by difficult problems
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Proceed past something, as in If you pass by a white house, you've gone too far . [c. 1300]
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Also, pass over . Disregard, overlook, as in Just pass by the first few pages and you'll get to the basics , or Ralph was passed over for promotion . [1300s]
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.
“It’s not a day that will pass by that I don’t think about him and what he would do in creative things.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
"There is a local saying that if you put a camera at an intersection in Chongqing, every 30 seconds you'll see a motorcycle pass by," said Zhang Yuanming, a 29-year-old motorbike enthusiast and instructor.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
As it continues inward, it is expected to make its closest pass by Messier 87 in roughly 200-300 million years.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026
"When hedgehogs pass by each other, you can tell that they are interacting. Maybe that's just chemical reactions to smelling each other," she says.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
Yellow taxis pass by and we groan, wishing we could hop into one and search out the house from the comfort of a back seat.
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
