Bypasses

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A means of evading a direct route or obstacle is known
2. a pathway created to circumvent an area of difficulty has been established
3. To avoid a block or problem by going around it ; a path designed to detour around an area of congestion or obstruction

Etymology: "Bypasses" is the plural form of "bypass", and it is the third-person singular of the verb as well. The noun and verb both come from a compound of "by-", meaning a side or secondary route, and "pass", meaning to go past something. Their combination describes a way around an obstacle, which is exactly the sense of a road or surgical procedure that avoids a blocked or congested point. The verb's ancestry is reconstructed rather than attested. Its probable form, Middle English "bypassen", is inferred from a past participle, "by-past" or "bipast", which appears in the record. English speakers were therefore combining "by" and "pass" to describe going past something on the side well before the modern word took on its technical meanings.

Synonyms: detours, diversions, circumventions, avoidances, skips

Antonyms: approaches, enters, engages, involves, includes