bypass (by¦pass)

noun

• 1a road passing round a town or its centre to provide an alternative route for through traffic.

• 2a secondary channel, pipe, or connection to allow a flow when the main one is closed or blocked.

• 3a surgical operation in which an alternative channel is created, especially to improve blood flow to the heart when a coronary artery is blocked: he had a triple heart bypass in 2003
• the alternative channel created during a bypass operation.

verb

• go past or round: bypass the farm and continue to the road
• provide (a town) with a route diverting traffic from its centre: the town has been bypassed
• avoid or circumvent (an obstacle or problem): a manager might bypass formal channels of communication