pass by

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

• Audio (US):

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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.

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

   • 2014 October 27, Taylor Swift, Ryan Tedder, “I Know Places (Taylor's Version)”, in 1989 (Taylor's Version)‎, performed by Taylor Swift, published 2023 October 27:

     I can hear them whisper as we pass by
     It's a bad sign, bad sign

2. (transitive) To travel past (something) without stopping; to ignore, to disregard.

   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 elapse.

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

4. (Philippines) To drop by.

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

• by-pass, bypass