Pass

/pɑːs/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

Primary sense: An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier such as a mountain range; a passageway; a defile; a ford.
Grammar: pass is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
Nearest alternatives: toss, abalienate, abandon, abysm.
Useful contrasts: ante, approaches, ban.
Usage evidence: "Pass me the salt, please." "Here you are."

How to use "pass"

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Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pass" in a final draft.

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Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pass" as the right word for your sentence.

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Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

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3. Confirm with context

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Final meaning check

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Definitions

Noun

1
An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier such as a mountain range; a passageway; a defile; a ford.
"mountain pass"
2
A password (especially one for a restricted-access website). slang
"Anyone want to trade passes?"
3
Initialism of positive alternative to school suspension. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
4
success in satisfying a test or requirement wordnet
5
A channel connecting a river or body of water to the sea, for example at the mouth (delta) of a river.
"the passes of the Mississippi"

Show 36 more definitions

6
Initialism of penile artery shunt syndrome. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
7
(sports) the act of throwing the ball to another member of your team wordnet
8
A single movement, especially of a hand, at, over, or along anything.
"[The bear] made a pass at the dog, but he swung out and above him […]"
9
Initialism of personal alert safety system. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
10
(baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls wordnet
11
A single passage of a tool over something, or of something over a tool.
12
Used to remember how to use a fire extinguisher: pull the pin, aim at the base (of the fire), squeeze the handle/trigger, sweep from side to side. initialism, mnemonic
13
a flight or run by an aircraft over a target wordnet
14
An attempt.
"My first pass at a career of writing proved unsuccessful."
15
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate wordnet
16
An attempt.; A sexual advance (often in the phrase make a pass).
"The man kicked his friend out of the house after he made a pass at his wife."
17
a usually brief attempt wordnet
18
Success in an examination or similar test.
"I gained three passes at A-level, in mathematics, French, and English literature."
19
a complimentary ticket wordnet
20
A thrust or push; an attempt to stab or strike an adversary.
21
a permit to enter or leave a military installation wordnet
22
A thrust; a sally of wit. figuratively
23
a document indicating permission to do something without restrictions wordnet
24
The act of moving the ball or puck from one player to another.
"Everyone in the football stadium expected a pass play on third down."
25
any authorization to pass or go somewhere wordnet
26
A passing of two trains in the same direction on a single track, when one is put into a siding to let the other overtake it.
27
an automatic advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent wordnet
28
Permission or license to pass, or to go and come.
"A ship sailing under the flag and pass of an enemy."
29
one complete cycle of operations (as by a computer) wordnet
30
A document granting permission to pass or to go and come; a passport; a ticket permitting free transit or admission
"a railroad pass; a theater pass; a military pass"
31
a difficult juncture wordnet
32
An intentional walk.
"Smith was given a pass after Jones' double."
33
the location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks wordnet
34
The act of overtaking; an overtaking manoeuvre.
"Albon made hard work of the result. Starting fourth, he dropped back to seventh at the second start and had to fight his way back up, which he did with some excellent passes."
35
a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs wordnet
36
The state of things; condition; predicament; impasse.
"England is growne to ſuch a paſſe of late, That rich men triumph to ſee the poore beg at their gate."
37
(military) a written leave of absence wordnet
38
Estimation; character. obsolete
"This passes, Master Ford."
39
The area in a restaurant kitchen where the finished dishes are passed from the chefs to the waiting staff.
"The finished dishes are placed on the pass ready to be collected by the waiter."
40
An act of declining to play one's turn in a game, often by saying the word "pass".
"A pass would have seen her win the game, but instead she gave a wrong answer and lost a point, putting her in second place."
41
A run through a document as part of a translation, compilation or reformatting process.
"Most Pascal compilers process source code in a single pass."

Verb

1
To change place.; To move or be moved from one place to another. intransitive
"They passed from room to room."
2
eliminate from the body wordnet
3
To change place.; To go past, by, over, or through; to proceed from one side to the other of; to move past. transitive
"You will pass a house on your right."
4
come to pass wordnet
5
To change place.; To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person, place, or condition to another. ditransitive
"The waiter passed biscuits and cheese."

Show 60 more definitions

6
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life wordnet
7
To change place.; To eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes. intransitive, transitive
"He was passing blood in both his urine and his stool."
8
disappear gradually wordnet
9
To change place.; To take a turn with (a line, gasket, etc.), as around a sail in furling, and make secure. transitive
10
transmit information wordnet
11
To change place.; To make various kinds of movement.; To kick (the ball) with precision rather than at full force. transitive
"20 June 2010, The Guardian, Rob Smyth Iaquinta passes it coolly into the right-hand corner as Paston dives the other way."
12
grant authorization or clearance for wordnet
13
To change place.; To make various kinds of movement.; To move (the ball or puck) to a teammate. transitive
"Brady passed the ball to nine different receivers and handed it off to seven."
14
pass over, across, or through wordnet
15
To change place.; To make various kinds of movement.; To make a lunge or swipe. intransitive
16
pass into a specified state or condition; sink into wordnet
17
To change place.; To make various kinds of movement.; To throw the ball, generally downfield, towards a teammate. intransitive
"The Patriots passed on third and long."
18
travel past wordnet
19
To change place.; To go from one person to another. intransitive
20
go across or through wordnet
21
To change place.; To put in circulation; to give currency to. transitive
"pass counterfeit money"
22
move past wordnet
23
To change place.; To cause to obtain entrance, admission, or conveyance. transitive
"pass a person into a theater or over a railroad"
24
cause to pass wordnet
25
To change place.; To put through a sieve. transitive
"When it's finished cooking, you should pass the sauce to get rid of any lumps."
26
for time to move forward wordnet
27
To change in state or status; To progress from one state to another; to advance. intransitive
"He passed from youth into old age."
28
transfer to another; of rights or property wordnet
29
To change in state or status; To depart, to cease, to come to an end. intransitive
"At first, she was worried, but that feeling soon passed."
30
be inherited by wordnet
31
To change in state or status; To die. euphemistic, intransitive
"His grandmother passed yesterday."
32
place into the hands or custody of wordnet
33
To change in state or status; To achieve a successful outcome from. intransitive, transitive
"He attempted the examination, but did not expect to pass."
34
throw (a ball) to another player wordnet
35
To change in state or status; To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to become valid or effective; to obtain the formal sanction of (a legislative body). intransitive, transitive
"Despite the efforts of the opposition, the bill passed."
36
allow to go without comment or censure wordnet
37
To change in state or status; To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or other instrument of conveyance. intransitive
"The estate passes by the third clause in Mr Smith's deed to his son."
38
make laws, bills, etc. or bring into effect by legislation wordnet
39
To change in state or status; To cause to advance by stages of progress; to carry on with success through an ordeal, examination, or action; specifically, to give legal or official sanction to; to ratify; to enact; to approve as valid and just. transitive
"He passed the bill through the committee."
40
go unchallenged; be approved wordnet
41
To change in state or status; To make a judgment on or upon a person or case. intransitive
"And within three dayes twelve knyghtes passed uppon hem; and they founde Sir Palomydes gylty, and Sir Saphir nat gylty, of the lordis deth."
42
accept or judge as acceptable wordnet
43
To change in state or status; To utter; to pronounce; to pledge. transitive
"I may almost depend on your own justice, and leave it to yourself to pass sentence on your own conduct"
44
go successfully through a test or a selection process wordnet
45
To change in state or status; To change from one state to another (without the implication of progression). intransitive
"And rising out of the fourth stage of deep meditation he entered into the state of mind to which the infinity of space is alone present. And passing out of the mere consciousness of the infinity of space he entered into the state of mind to which the infinity of though is along present."
46
be superior or better than some standard wordnet
47
To move through time.; To elapse, to be spent. intransitive
"Their vacation passed pleasantly."
48
stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point wordnet
49
To move through time.; To spend. transitive
"What will we do to pass the time?"
50
use up a period of time in a specific way wordnet
51
To move through time.; To allow to go by without noticing; to omit attention to; to take no note of; to disregard. transitive
"Please you that I may pass / This doing."
52
To move through time.; To continue. intransitive
53
To move through time.; To proceed without hindrance or opposition. intransitive
"You're late, but I'll let it pass."
54
To move through time.; To live through; to have experience of; to undergo; to suffer. transitive
"Please you that I may pass / This doing."
55
To move through time.; To happen. intransitive
"It will soon come to pass."
56
To be accepted.; To be tolerated as a substitute for something else, to "do". intransitive, stative
"It isn't ideal, but it will pass."
57
To be accepted.; To be accepted by others as a member of a race, sex, or other group to which one does not belong or would not have originally appeared to belong; especially to be considered white although one has black ancestry, or a woman although one was assigned male at birth or vice versa. intransitive, stative
"Chinese sometimes pass for Europeans, but Japs more often approach Western types."
58
To refrain from doing something.; To decline something that is offered or available. intransitive
"He asked me to go to the cinema with him, but I think I'll pass."
59
To refrain from doing something.; To reject; to pass up. transitive
"Instead, the board voted to suspend the dividend, giving Orton his way at last. They passed the dividend again in June 1870 […]"
60
To refrain from doing something.; To decline or not attempt to answer a question. intransitive
"I haven't any idea of the answer, so I'll have to pass."
61
To refrain from doing something.; In turn-based games, to decline to play in one's turn. intransitive
62
To refrain from doing something.; In euchre, to decline to make the trump. intransitive
63
To do or be better.; To go beyond bounds; to surpass; to be in excess. intransitive, obsolete
"This passes, Master Ford."
64
To do or be better.; To transcend; to surpass; to excel; to exceed. transitive
"And striue to passe[…]Their natiue musicke by her skilfull art:"
65
To take heed, to have an interest, to care. intransitive, obsolete
"Mena[phon]. How now my Lord, what mated and amazd’ To heare the king thus threaten like himſelfe? Coſ[roe]. Ah Menaphon, I paſſe not for his threates, […]"

Adjective

1
of advancing the ball by throwing it wordnet

Proper Noun

1
A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms

toss abalienate abandon abysm abyss accept

Antonyms

ante approaches ban barrier

Example

""Pass me the salt, please." "Here you are.""

Common questions

What does "pass" mean?

An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier such as a mountain range; a passageway; a defile; a ford.

What is a synonym for "pass"?

Common synonyms include: toss, abalienate, abandon, abysm, abyss, accept.

How do you use "pass" in a sentence?

"Pass me the salt, please." "Here you are."

How do you pronounce "pass"?

Pronounced /pɑːs/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom. Displaced native Old English genġan.

Etymology 2

From Middle English pas, pase, pace, from passen (“to pass”).

Etymology 3

Short for password.

Etymology 4

* As an English surname, from a pet form of the medieval name Passe, itself probably a pet form of Pascal. * As a German surname, from the noun Pass (“pass, passageway”). * As a Jewish surname, from Polish pas (“belt, girdle”). * Also as an English surname, from Middle English passe, referring to passages. Compare Passage.

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Synonyms

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