to zip by

3 3.6

To pass very quickly, as when a car goes by or time moves fast

phrasal verb
/zɪp baɪ/

Informal

: pasar rápidamente

All these thoughts zipped by in under a second.
cars zip by
bullets zip by
watch people zip by

Examples

Then they suck in their stomachs, duck, or leap straight up off the branch as the BB zips by.

Fiction book (1998)
A skateboard zips by a group.

Fiction book (1990)
Throughout most of the day, we were able to zip by people and ride most of the rides that we like.

Blog text (13)
The day zipped by, and before I knew it, the kids were home.

Blog text (15)
The chopper zips by just overhead.

Fiction book (2002)
Nick zips by him.

Fiction book (1993)
Younger point guards like John Stockton and Isiah Thomas were zipping by him; he couldn't stay in front of them anymore.

Blog text (8)
Out of the darkness, a delicate, spindly Voyager spacecraft, moving at 38,000 miles per hour, zips by us on its beeline to a billion years from now.

Academic text (2000)
I stood on the sidewalk as the bicycles zipped by me at incredible speeds.
As the parade started, colorful floats zipped by in a brilliant display of celebration.

Synonyms

to pass by

vsto zip by

165 1.2

Go past someone or something without stopping

involves quick passage with strong speed rather than just not stopping

to speed

vsto zip by

137 1.0

To move or travel quickly, often faster than allowed

stresses passing by very quickly rather than general fast travel

to go by

vsto zip by

133 1.0

To move past someone or something

emphasizes much greater speed when passing someone or something

to zip

vsto zip by

Informal

32 2.3

To move very quickly from one place to another

is the same meaning but expressed as a phrasal form

to whisk by

vsto zip by

1 5.1

Move past someone or something very quickly and smoothly

focuses on speed rather than smoothness of movement

to zoom along

vsto zip by

1 3.9

To move very quickly along a road or path

is about moving past something quickly, not only travelling a route

Antonyms

crawl

19 2.7

A very slow movement, often of traffic or of a project

How Fast

to zip by

Informal

3 3.6

to zoom

26 1.3

to go by

133 1.0

to walk past

69 1.0

Surface Forms

zip by infinitive

zipped by past

zipped by past participle

zipping by present participle

zips by third person singular

Morphology

zip + by

The verb 'zip' denotes moving at high speed and the particle 'by' signals passing or movement past something, so the combined meaning 'to move past very quickly' is directly derivable from the constituents. This motion verb + particle composition is a common, transparent pattern in English (and mirrored in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words should understand the MWE.

Etymology

The phrasal verb zip by may come from the quick 'zip' sound something makes when it rushes past, with by showing it passes near you. So, the image of that fast, passing sound explains why it means 'to move past very quickly'.