passerby

Or pass·er-by

[pas-er-bahy, -bahy, pah-ser-]

noun

plural

passersby 

1. a person passing by.

Word History and Origins

Origin of passerby¹

1560–70; pass by + -er ¹, with postposing of the particle

Example Sentences

He moved the family business to Encinitas, where he bought 67 acres near the railroad and Interstate 5 and planted so many patented poinsettia plants that passersby were treated to crimson waves come November.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Giddy-yap, Rainbow!” she cried aloud, to bolster her nerve, and also to warn any passersby of her wobbly, swerving approach.

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Like, he liked 15-year-old girls… He wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds, but he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were but would look legal to a passerby.”

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Since my experience at Finsbury Park, what has stayed with me, perhaps more than the filming, is how passersby failed to step in.

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“But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passerby.”

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• eyewitness 
• observer 
• onlooker 
• spectator