noun · verb · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/ˈbaɪpæs/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈbaɪpɑːs/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B AY1 P AE2 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A road that passes around something, such as a residential area or business district.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A replacement road for obsolete road that is no longer in use because devastating natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The act of going past or around.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A section of pipe that conducts a fluid around some other fixture.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
An electrical shunt.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
An alternative passage created to divert a bodily fluid around a damaged organ; the surgical procedure to construct such a bypass.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To avoid an obstacle etc, by constructing or using a bypass.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
To ignore the usual channels or procedures.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
a highway that encircles an urban area so that traffic does not have to pass through the center
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: beltway, ring road, ringway
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: highway, main road
10
noun
Meaning 10
a conductor having low resistance in parallel with another device to divert a fraction of the current
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: shunt, electrical shunt
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: conductor
11
noun
Meaning 11
a surgically created shunt (usually around a damaged part)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: shunt
12
verb
Meaning 12
avoid something unpleasant or laborious
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
You cannot bypass these rules!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: short-circuit, go around, get around
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: avoid
History
Etymology
From Middle English *bypassen, *bipassen (suggested by past participle by-past, bipast), equivalent to by- + pass.
Across languages
Translations
164 source translations are retained for this English entry.