To pass someone or something without stopping, especially when you could or should have helped.
Keep walking and don't stop to help, even when someone needs you.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To pass someone in need without stopping to help, implying indifference or a conscious choice not to get involved.
"When he saw the injured bird on the pavement, he couldn't just walk on by."
If you see somebody in need, don't walk on by.
Used literally to describe the physical act of passing a place or person without stopping.
"She walked on by without even glancing at the shop window."
Walk on by, wait on the corner.
— Burt Bacharach / Hal David, 'Walk On By' (recorded by Dionne Warwick, 1964)
To walk and go past without pausing.
Keep walking and don't stop to help, even when someone needs you.
Strongly associated with the 1964 Dionne Warwick song 'Walk On By', giving it a literary/emotional resonance. Often used in discussions of social responsibility and bystander behaviour.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
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