Dictionary

bystander en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbaɪˌstænd.ə(ɹ)/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From by- + stander. Compare passerby.

Meanings

1. A person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer, witness, or spectator.
   • Conservative influencer Nick Sortor is handcuffed Thursday night by a police officer outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, a bystander video shows; the video does not show events leading up to the arrest. 2025 October 3, Andy Rose, “Arrest of conservative influencer Nick Sortor outside Portland ICE building now under federal investigation”, in CNN:
   • If he wins, he will be at liberty, perhaps, to give vent to a laugh, or to pass a remark on the circumstance to a bystander, or to stake again, or to double his stake; but, even this he must do solely out of curiosity, and for the pleasure of watching the play of chances and of calculations, and not because of any vulgar desire to win. 1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter II, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/II):

Forms

Deriveds

bystander effect · bystanderish · bystandership · innocent bystander

Relateds

upstander · rubberneck

Synonyms

onlooker

Translations (26)

fi sivullinen (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · it convenuto (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · sv åskådare (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · de Schaulustiger (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ka დამკვირვებელი (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · fr passant (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ar مُتَفَرِّج (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ang ætstandend (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · cmn 旁觀者 /旁观者 (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · it astante (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ru свиде́тель (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · my ဘေးလူ (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · fr badaud (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ru наблюда́тель (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ka მაყურებელი (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · pt espectador (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · es curioso (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · fi sivustakatsoja (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · de Zuschauer (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ru очеви́дец (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · hu nézelődő (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · hu bámészkodó (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · pl naoczny świadek (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ka მოწმე (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · nl omstander (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator) · ang ymbstandend (a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator)