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 ( def 9 ).
4. a surgical procedure in which a diseased or obstructed hollow organ is temporarily or permanently circumvented. Compare coronary bypass, gastric bypass, heart-lung machine, intestinal bypass.

verb (used with object)

, by·passed or (Rare) by·past; by·passed or by·past; by·pass·ing.

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

/ bī′păs′ /

1. A passage created surgically to divert the flow of blood or other bodily fluid or to circumvent an obstructed or diseased organ.

Other Words From

• bypasser by-passer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bypass¹

1840–50; apparently back formation from by-passage; by (adj.), passage ¹

Example Sentences

Navy to protect their comms, the browser’s code was made public in the mid-2000s and TOR became a nonprofit aimed at helping activists in authoritarian regimes bypass the censors.

From Salon

The additional declaration may swerve X’s guidelines but it doesn’t bypass the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority, which has reportedly begun monitoring Stake’s X campaign.

From Slate

A major impediment to total control for either party is that Senate bills require a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes, to bypass the filibuster, which enables senators to delay legislation by keeping debate open-ended.

From BBC

Some of the government appointments - including Hegseth's - require a vote of approval by senators, although Trump, also a Republican, has demanded that the next leader of the US Senate let him bypass this process.

From BBC

Take a quick sweep of dating-related videos on TikTok, and if it’s not daters sharing their horror stories, it’s a myriad of tips to bypass the dating-app paywalls.

From Slate

Related Words

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