Meaning & use
bypass
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To go around something instead of through it, such as a town or a blocked area.
Grammar: Takes an object: bypass the city.
Patterns
- bypass something
- bypass a town
The new highway bypasses the town center.
We bypassed the traffic by taking back roads.
The river bypasses the old dam through a channel.
verbtransitive
To avoid or ignore a rule, person or step in a process, often to save time.
Grammar: Takes an object, and is sometimes critical: bypass the manager.
Patterns
- bypass the rules
- bypass someone
She bypassed her boss and spoke directly to the director.
Hackers found a way to bypass the security system.
The developer bypassed the usual approval process.
nouncountable
A road that takes traffic around a town or busy area.
Grammar: Countable: build a bypass, on the bypass.
Patterns
- a bypass around somewhere
- the bypass
The bypass reduced traffic in the village.
Follow the bypass until you see the sign.
Residents voted for a bypass around the high street.
nouncountablemedical
A surgical operation that creates a new route for blood to flow around a blocked artery.
Grammar: Often used as bypass surgery or a heart bypass.
Patterns
- bypass surgery
- have a bypass
He needed heart bypass surgery after a heart attack.
The surgeon performed a triple bypass.
Her father recovered well from his bypass.
Word forms
| third person singular | bypasses |
|---|---|
| past tense | bypassed |
| past participle | bypassed |
| -ing form | bypassing |
| plural | bypasses |
Common combinations
- bypass the system
- Some users try to bypass the system to avoid fees.
- heart bypass
- He recovered quickly from his heart bypass.
- bypass surgery
- Bypass surgery restored blood flow to his heart.
- bypass the middleman
- The farm sells direct to bypass the middleman.
- build a bypass
- The council plans to build a bypass next year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- circumvent
- Circumvent is more formal and often suggests getting around a rule cleverly, sometimes unfairly.
- avoid
- Avoid is broader and does not need the picture of going around something.
- skirt
- Skirt means to go around the edge of a place, and it can also mean to avoid a topic.
- sidestep
- Sidestep is more informal and suggests dodging a question or duty.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bypass or by-pass?
bypass vs by-pass
The hyphenated spelling is old-fashioned; modern writing uses the single word bypass.
Practice
The new road lets drivers ____ the crowded town center.
Choose one answer.
Bypass means to go around something rather than through it. Encounter, approach and enter all suggest going into or toward the center, which a new road would not be designed for.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bypass”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.