to brush by - Glite Dictionary

Examples

He came home from work and brushed by her.

Fiction book (1990)
The judge brushes by Joe and Andrew without a word.

Fiction book (1993)
You may even have brushed by her in the street.

Random Harvest (1942)
She brushed by me on her way to the bathroom.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
He just brushed by me.

Hollow Man (2000)
Men and women whispered in Michel's ear as he brushed by them.

Fiction book (1991)
The paramedic's partner brushes by and moves a gurney toward Jonny's bunk.

Fiction book (1996)
We hear a hubbub of fierce questioning—ad libs—but Jim, puzzled, brushes by, seeking refuge in his office.

Fiction book (1991)
As I walked through the crowded market, I felt someone brush by me unexpectedly.
In the busy hallway, students often brush by each other without stopping to talk.

Synonyms

to pass by

vsto brush by

165 1.2

Go past someone or something without stopping

is more specific about moving very close and avoiding attention

to brush

vsto brush by

133 1.6

To touch something lightly while passing by

focuses on very close movement rather than the touch itself

to walk past

vsto brush by

69 1.0

To go past something on foot without stopping

adds the idea of very close, unnoticed movement rather than neutral passing

to brush against

vsto brush by

15 3.1

To touch something lightly while passing by

is moving very close without necessarily making contact

to slip by

vsto brush by

11 3.8

To go past quickly without anyone noticing, as with time or chances

is about physical close passing rather than speed or missed chances

to whisk by

vsto brush by

1 5.1

Move past someone or something very quickly and smoothly

is focused on close proximity and not on speed or smoothness

to sidle past

vsto brush by

1 7.9

To move sideways past someone quietly without being noticed

is similar but does not require sideways stealthy motion

Antonyms

to pause

346 1.0

Stop for a short time before continuing

stop

310 1.0

An act when something ends or pauses

How Close

to collide with

38 3.7

to brush by

3 5.2

to nudge

33 3.8

to pass by

165 1.2

Surface Forms

brush by infinitive

brushed by past

brushed by past participle

brushing by present participle

brushes by third person singular

Morphology

brush + by

The MWE meaning 'to move past someone or something very closely' is directly derivable from 'brush' (to make slight contact in passing) combined with 'by' (close to or past), following a transparent verb + preposition composition. This is a common, literal motion construction cross-linguistically and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The phrasal verb brush by comes from the simple image of a light touch, like a brush moving by someone's arm when you pass very close. So it came to mean 'to move past someone very closely without stopping or being noticed'.