Passant

//ˈpæsənt// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Walking, usually to the right, and looking straight ahead with the right forepaw raised from the ground. not-comparable

    "He them espying, gan himselfe prepare, / And on his arme addresse his goodly shield / That bore a Lion passant in a golden field."

  2. 2
    Currently in use; in vogue. not-comparable, obsolete

    "Many opinions are passant concerning the basilisk, or little king of serpents, commonly called the cockatrice [...]."

Adjective
  1. 1
    in walking position with right foreleg raised wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
erect

Example

More examples

"If White has a pawn on e5 and Black plays his pawn from d7 to d5, the white pawn can take the black pawn, removing it from the board and occupying d6, as if the black pawn were there. This is called taking "en passant"."

Etymology

From Middle English passaunt (c. 1300), from Old French passant.

More for "passant"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.