From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgo by phrasal verb1 PASS/TIME PASSINGif time goes by, it passes Things will get easier as time goes by.as the days/weeks/years go by As the weeks went by, I became more and more worried.hardly a day/week/month etc goes by Hardly a week goes by without some food scare being reported in the media.in days/times/years etc gone by (=in the past) These herbs would have been grown for medicinal purposes in days gone by.2 go by something to form an opinion about someone or something from the information or experience that you have You can’t always go by appearances. If his past plays are anything to go by, this should be a play worth watching.3 go by somethingUSE something to do things according to a set of rules or laws Only a fool goes by the rules all the time. There was no doubt that the referee had gone by the book (=had obeyed all the rules). → go by the board at board1(8), → go by the name of something at name1(1) → go→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
go by• Several cars went by very quickly.as time goes by• Left to themselves, without adult interference, groups of children tend to become more rather than less aggressive as time goes by.• Then, as in any strike, solidarity tends to erode as time goes by.• Your satisfaction level will decline as time goes by.• Your basis in your S corporation goes up and down as time goes by and things happen.• So as time goes by everything will cost more.• But as time goes by it just gets harder.• And as time goes by you will probably have to document in detail why the project is behind schedule.• And as time goes by, your staff will likely decrease, for the age limits of call-up will rise.If ... are anything to go by• Indeed, the colour of your breeches is very important, at least, if the rules are anything to go by.• In fact if the books are anything to go by then he is doing everything wrong. 