bypass

bypass — verb

1. to take a route that goes around a place, town, or obstacle instead of through i

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to take a route that goes around a place, town, or obstacle instead of through it, usually to save time or to keep clear of trouble.

Example

Marcus took the new ring road to bypass the city centre.

bypass + [place] for going around it

The hikers chose a forest trail that bypasses the muddy field near the river.

Common collocations
  • bypass the city centre
  • bypass the junction
  • bypass the village
  • bypass the traffic
Synonyms
  • skirt

    stresses moving along the edge of a place rather than entering

  • circumvent

    more formal; can also describe going round an obstacle

  • avoid

    broader; does not imply taking a route around

Antonyms
  • cross

    go through the middle, not around

  • enter

    go into the place rather than past it

Grammar Patterns

bypass + [place / obstacle]

Usage Note

Object is usually a place or physical obstacle (a town, a junction, traffic). Distinguish from sense 2, which takes an abstract object such as a rule or person in authority.

Common Mistakes

We bypassed through the city.
We bypassed the city.
bypass is transitive; do not add 'through' or 'around'.

2. to skip a rule, procedure, or person in charge by dealing directly with someone

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to skip a rule, procedure, or person in charge by dealing directly with someone else, so that the usual checks do not apply.

Example

The manager bypassed his boss and emailed the proposal straight to the company president.

bypass + [authority] to deal directly with someone higher

Hackers found a way to bypass the bank's security system within minutes.

bypass + [process / safeguard]

Common collocations
  • bypass the rules
  • bypass security
  • bypass the system
  • bypass normal channels
Synonyms
  • circumvent

    more formal; common for laws and regulations

  • sidestep

    often used for awkward questions or rules

  • skip

    informal; less suggestive of breaking proper order

Antonyms
  • follow

    obey the rule or procedure

  • observe

    act in accordance with a rule

Grammar Patterns

bypass + [rule / authority / process]

Usage Note

Object is usually a rule, safety check, official channel, or a person who normally has authority. Often carries a slightly disapproving tone, suggesting the speaker thinks proper steps were skipped.

Common Mistakes

She bypassed to ask the director.
She bypassed her manager and asked the director.
bypass needs a direct object naming what or who was skipped.

bypass — noun

Word family

  • bypassed
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five words describe not going straight through somewhere, but each chooses a different angle. 'Bypass' is the everyday choice for a planned route around a town, junction, or obstacle, often along a built road. 'Skirt' suggests moving along the edge of a place, brushing past it without entering — hikers skirt a lake, soldiers skirt a forest. 'Circumvent' is more formal and is most natural with abstract objects: laws, restrictions, difficulties. 'Avoid' is the broadest: it covers both physical and social situations and does not imply going around at all — you can avoid someone by staying home. 'Detour' usually marks an unplanned, temporary diversion: a closed bridge forces drivers to detour. So a commuter bypasses the city, a hiker skirts the marsh, a lawyer circumvents a clause, a tourist avoids the busy market, and a delivery van detours around a fallen tree.

bypass ↗skirt ↗circumventavoid ↗detour

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bypass surgery
  • bypass operation
  • ring road bypass
  • village bypass
  • heart bypass

Adverbs

  • completely bypass
  • easily bypass
  • quickly bypass

Phrases

  • a way to bypass
  • bypass the system
  • bypass normal channels

Prepositions

  • bypass via
  • bypass on the way to

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed in English in the early 1800s by joining the everyday words 'by' (meaning past, beside) and 'pass' (to go). It first named a small side path that let travellers go past a main route. By the late 1800s engineers used it for water pipes that carried liquid around a blocked section, and the same idea later spread to roads, electrical wiring, and finally heart surgery in the 1950s, where doctors borrowed the word for an operation that sends blood past a damaged artery.