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.
Her mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and passer-by, Mark Ratcliffe, 67, both died after trying to save her.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
But after a "venomous" comment from a passer-by, Ms Wiggins said she wanted to remind people of the tradition's backstory.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
The first victim was spotted by a passer-by near a bridge in Choisy-le-Roi, a south-eastern suburb of the capital, on 13 August.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
Pop star Charli XCX has confirmed her marriage to George Daniel, drummer of band The 1975, after a video snapped by a passer-by sparked online speculation of a wedding.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025
Beth started, leaned forward, smiled and nodded, watched the passer-by till his quick tramp died away, then said softly as if to herself, “How strong and well and happy that dear boy looks.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
