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Added 9 October 2026

bypass

/ˈbaɪpæs/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bypass at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A highway that encircles an urban area so that traffic does not have to pass through the center.
A surgically created shunt (usually around a damaged part).
A conductor having low resistance in parallel with another device to divert a fraction of the current.

verb

Avoid something unpleasant or laborious.
You cannot bypass these rules!

Origin

From Middle English *bypassen, *bipassen (suggested by past participle by-past, bipast), equivalent to by- + pass.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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