1
: a passage to one side
especially
: a deflected route usually around a town
2
a
: a channel carrying a fluid around a part and back to the main stream
b(1)
(2)
: shunt sense 1c
also
: a surgical procedure for the establishment of a shunt
have a coronary bypass
bypassed; bypassing; bypasses
1
a
: to avoid by means of a bypass
bypass a congested area
b
: to cause to follow a bypass
2
a
: to neglect or ignore usually intentionally
b
: circumvent
attempting to bypass the law
Examples of bypass in a Sentence
Noun
The bridge is being rebuilt so we'll have to take the bypass.
Verb
To bypass the city, take the highway that circles it.
Is there a way to bypass the bridge construction?
He bypassed the manager and talked directly to the owner.
She managed to bypass the usual paperwork.
Recent Examples on the Web
Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Opponents argue that letting private utilities bypass city and county governments undermines their ability to manage limited water resources in Georgia’s rapidly growing coastal region.
—Russ Bynum, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
City leaders crafted the Metropolitan Master Plan of 1948, with designs to transform the riverfront into a vibrant showpiece of a modern city, with a baseball stadium, greenspace and a bypass expressway.
—Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 3 Mar. 2024
Walk the calories off at El Jardín Botánico, a charmingly unkempt public park tucked behind a bypass.
—Laurence Blair, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
The Other Candidates For the most part, the other presidential hopefuls bypass terms like energy independence, energy security, or energy dominance.
—Dipka Bhambhani, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
When Colby was unable to come off of bypass after the surgery, the lawsuit says the surgeon should have gone back to the operating room.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2024
The Army Corps needs to raise this section of North University Drive in order to operate the bypass channel north of downtown.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2024
The sound wall is currently used to minimize noise from traffic on the bypass.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024
Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Often bypassed by international visitors for other European cities, Antwerp offers an embarrassment of riches in a compact city at the crossroads of Europe.
—Mary Winston Nicklin, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024
Her parents, Richard and Estelle Mae (Cowan) Proctor, had moved to Canada from Oklahoma, two among thousands of Black Americans who had bypassed Northern U.S. states for the chance of a homestead in the Canadian West during the Great Migration.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Last month, the world got a preview of a looming catastrophe: the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to bypass antiquated identity and security systems.
—Wayne Chang, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The Biden administration has twice bypassed congressional review in order to provide weapons to Israel.
—Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Then, take the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios and use your Express Pass to bypass the lines for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Revenge of the Mummy, and anything else that appeals to you.
—Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2024
Put me on the 761 Sylmar bypassing the 405, taking Sepulveda instead, threading underneath the freeway and coming up into the craggy foothills of Bel-Air, the bushy chaparral harking back to the ecology of the land before the city.
—Mark Gozonsky, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Experimenting with a new free filing service This year, the IRS is testing a new program that allows taxpayers to file electronic returns directly with the government for free, bypassing commercial tax preparers.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 24 Mar. 2024
Noun
Investigators from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office discovered that diversion bypasses were installed on two commercial water pumps that irrigated Naumann’s crops, according to the district attorney.
—Rebecca Plevin, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Opponents argue that letting private utilities bypass city and county governments undermines their ability to manage limited water resources in Georgia’s rapidly growing coastal region.
—Russ Bynum, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
City leaders crafted the Metropolitan Master Plan of 1948, with designs to transform the riverfront into a vibrant showpiece of a modern city, with a baseball stadium, greenspace and a bypass expressway.
—Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 3 Mar. 2024
Walk the calories off at El Jardín Botánico, a charmingly unkempt public park tucked behind a bypass.
—Laurence Blair, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
The Other Candidates For the most part, the other presidential hopefuls bypass terms like energy independence, energy security, or energy dominance.
—Dipka Bhambhani, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
When Colby was unable to come off of bypass after the surgery, the lawsuit says the surgeon should have gone back to the operating room.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2024
The Army Corps needs to raise this section of North University Drive in order to operate the bypass channel north of downtown.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2024
The sound wall is currently used to minimize noise from traffic on the bypass.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024
Verb
The White House bypassed congressional approval for both sales by invoking emergency authority.
—Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Often bypassed by international visitors for other European cities, Antwerp offers an embarrassment of riches in a compact city at the crossroads of Europe.
—Mary Winston Nicklin, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024
Her parents, Richard and Estelle Mae (Cowan) Proctor, had moved to Canada from Oklahoma, two among thousands of Black Americans who had bypassed Northern U.S. states for the chance of a homestead in the Canadian West during the Great Migration.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Last month, the world got a preview of a looming catastrophe: the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to bypass antiquated identity and security systems.
—Wayne Chang, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The Biden administration has twice bypassed congressional review in order to provide weapons to Israel.
—Phil Klay, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Then, take the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios and use your Express Pass to bypass the lines for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Revenge of the Mummy, and anything else that appeals to you.
—Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2024
Put me on the 761 Sylmar bypassing the 405, taking Sepulveda instead, threading underneath the freeway and coming up into the craggy foothills of Bel-Air, the bushy chaparral harking back to the ecology of the land before the city.
—Mark Gozonsky, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Experimenting with a new free filing service This year, the IRS is testing a new program that allows taxpayers to file electronic returns directly with the government for free, bypassing commercial tax preparers.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 24 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bypass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bypass
Cite this Entry
“Bypass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bypass. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bypass
1 of 2 noun
by·pass
ˈbī-ˌpas 
: a passage to one side or around a blocked or very crowded area
bypass
2 of 2 verb
: to make a detour around
bypass a city
Medical Definition
bypass
noun
by·pass
ˈbī-ˌpas
: a surgically established shunt
cardiopulmonary bypass of blood from the right atrium to the aorta
also
: a surgical procedure for the establishment of a shunt
Note: When a bypass is performed on more than one coronary artery or branch, the number of times (double, triple, etc.) is often specified.
I was immediately scheduled for a triple bypass, but they decided to try an angioplasty. —Terry Todd, Sports Illustrated
see coronary artery bypass, gastric bypass, jejunoileal bypass
Terry Todd, Sports Illustrated
bypass
transitive verb
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