- a variation of passerby.
passer-by
Britishnoun
Explanation
A passer-by is someone who just happens to walk past something. If you trip and spill the contents of your backpack on the sidewalk, a kind passer-by will probably stop and help you gather your things. If you witness a car accident while you're walking to school, you're a passer-by, and if you stroll past someone who's juggling flaming torches on the sidewalk, you're also a passer-by. Before the mid-sixteenth century, the now-obsolete passager had the same meaning. Today, passer-by is a fairly straightforward word ("one who passes by"); its only slightly confusing aspect being the plural form, which is passers-by.
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.
The latest discovery was made by a passer-by, who spotted the body on his way to work, police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe told reporters at the scene.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
They had entered the water to try to help him but were pulled to safety by a passer-by.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Her mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and passer-by Mark Ratcliffe, 67, both died after trying to save her.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
The bodies of Sarah and Mark Ratcliffe – a passer-by who tried to help – were recovered on Friday, shortly after they entered heavy seas in Withernsea, East Yorkshire.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
No passer-by would detect a daughter in this house.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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.
