pass by

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɑːs ˈbaɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pæs ˈbaɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

pass by (third-person singular simple present passes by, present participle passing by, simple past and past participle passed by)

1. (intransitive) To travel past without stopping. [from 14th c.]

   I noticed my wife pass by with a bag of shopping.

2. (transitive) To travel past (something) without stopping; to ignore, to disregard. [from 14th c.]

   I had the distinct worry that happiness would pass me by.

   • 1941 August, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The English Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 358:

     Though these notes have no pretensions to being a comprehensive catalogue, we cannot pass Euston by. Euston is not a typically English station.

3. (intransitive) Of a period of time: to come to an end, to elapse. [from 15th c.]

   Nearly a year has passed by since I first laid eyes on him.

4. (Philippines) To drop by.

Synonyms

• (to travel past): go by; see also Thesaurus:pass by
• (to ignore): misregard; see also Thesaurus:ignore
• (to elapse): pass; see also Thesaurus:elapse

Translations

go by — see go by

Anagrams

• by-pass, bypass