Morphemes in “bypass”
“bypass” has 2 morphemes: by- + pass.
by
prefix
+
pass
root
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are by- + pass.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| by- | derivational prefix | bound | secondary, beside |
| pass | free root | free | (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls |
How the word is built
pass → bypass
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “pass” is where the chain starts.
Break any word into morphemes
Prefixes, roots and suffixes with glosses, free and in your browser.
Open the morphological analyzer →Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "bypass"?
"bypass" has two morphemes: by- + pass.
How do you break "bypass" into morphemes?
by- + pass. The root is "pass"; by- is a derivational prefix.
What is the root word of "bypass"?
The root of "bypass" is "pass", built up as pass → bypass.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.