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Pass

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pass¹

  • /pɑːs/
  • [pʰɑːs] General South African, UK
  • [pʰäːs] Australia, New Zealand
  • [pʰɐːs] Australia, New Zealand
  • [pʰaːs] Boston
  • /pæs/
  • [pʰæs] Canada, US
  • [pʰɛəs] Canada, US
  • [pʰeəs] Canada, US
  • [pʰas] Ireland, Northern England
  • [pʰæs] Ireland, Northern England
  • [pʰäs] Scotland
  • [pʰeə̯s] New York City

Rhymes with -æs, -ɑːs

Where it comes from

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.

verb passes · passing · passed · pass

  1. intransitive To move or be moved from one place to another. They passed from room to room.
  2. transitive To go past, by, over, or through; to proceed from one side to the other of; to move past. You will pass a house on your right.
  3. ditransitive To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person, place, or condition to another. The waiter passed biscuits and cheese.
  4. intransitive, transitive To eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes. He was passing blood in both his urine and his stool.
  5. transitive To take a turn with (a line, gasket, etc.), as around a sail in furling, and make secure.
  6. transitive To kick (the ball) with precision rather than at full force. 20 June 2010, The Guardian, Rob Smyth Iaquinta passes it coolly into the right-hand corner as Paston dives the other way.
  7. transitive To move (the ball or puck) to a teammate. Brady passed the ball to nine different receivers and handed it off to seven.
  8. intransitive To make a lunge or swipe.
  9. intransitive To throw the ball, generally downfield, towards a teammate. The Patriots passed on third and long.
  10. intransitive To go from one person to another.
  11. transitive To put in circulation; to give currency to. pass counterfeit money
  12. transitive To cause to obtain entrance, admission, or conveyance. pass a person into a theater or over a railroad
  13. transitive To put through a sieve. When it's finished cooking, you should pass the sauce to get rid of any lumps.
  14. intransitive To progress from one state to another; to advance. He passed from youth into old age.
  15. intransitive To depart, to cease, to come to an end. At first, she was worried, but that feeling soon passed.
  16. euphemistic, intransitive To die. His grandmother passed yesterday.
  17. intransitive, transitive To achieve a successful outcome from. He attempted the examination, but did not expect to pass.
  18. intransitive, transitive To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to become valid or effective; to obtain the formal sanction of (a legislative body). Despite the efforts of the opposition, the bill passed.
  19. intransitive To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or other instrument of conveyance. The estate passes by the third clause in Mr Smith's deed to his son.
  20. transitive 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. He passed the bill through the committee.
  21. intransitive To make a judgment on or upon a person or case. And within three dayes twelve knyghtes passed uppon hem; and they founde Sir Palomydes gylty, and Sir Saphir nat gylty, of the lordis deth.
  22. transitive To utter; to pronounce; to pledge. I may almost depend on your own justice, and leave it to yourself to pass sentence on your own conduct
  23. intransitive To change from one state to another (without the implication of progression). 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.
  24. intransitive To elapse, to be spent. Their vacation passed pleasantly.
  25. transitive To spend. What will we do to pass the time?
  26. transitive To allow to go by without noticing; to omit attention to; to take no note of; to disregard. Please you that I may pass / This doing.
  27. intransitive To continue.
  28. intransitive To proceed without hindrance or opposition. You're late, but I'll let it pass.
  29. transitive To live through; to have experience of; to undergo; to suffer. Please you that I may pass / This doing.
  30. intransitive To happen. It will soon come to pass.
  31. intransitive, stative To be tolerated as a substitute for something else, to "do". It isn't ideal, but it will pass.
  32. intransitive, stative 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. Chinese sometimes pass for Europeans, but Japs more often approach Western types.
  33. intransitive To decline something that is offered or available. He asked me to go to the cinema with him, but I think I'll pass.
  34. transitive To reject; to pass up. Instead, the board voted to suspend the dividend, giving Orton his way at last. They passed the dividend again in June 1870 […]
  35. intransitive To decline or not attempt to answer a question. I haven't any idea of the answer, so I'll have to pass.
  36. intransitive In turn-based games, to decline to play in one's turn.
  37. intransitive In euchre, to decline to make the trump.
  38. intransitive, obsolete To go beyond bounds; to surpass; to be in excess. This passes, Master Ford.
  39. transitive To transcend; to surpass; to excel; to exceed. And striue to passe[…]Their natiue musicke by her skilfull art:
  40. intransitive, obsolete To take heed, to have an interest, to care. 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, […]

pass²

  • /pɑːs/
  • [pʰɑːs] General South African, UK
  • [pʰäːs] Australia, New Zealand
  • [pʰɐːs] Australia, New Zealand
  • [pʰaːs] Boston
  • /pæs/
  • [pʰæs] Canada, US
  • [pʰɛəs] Canada, US
  • [pʰeəs] Canada, US
  • [pʰas] Ireland, Northern England
  • [pʰæs] Ireland, Northern England
  • [pʰäs] Scotland
  • [pʰeə̯s] New York City

Rhymes with -æs, -ɑːs

Where it comes from

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

noun passes

  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 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
  3. 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 […]
  4. A single passage of a tool over something, or of something over a tool.
  5. An attempt. My first pass at a career of writing proved unsuccessful.
  6. 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.
  7. Success in an examination or similar test. I gained three passes at A-level, in mathematics, French, and English literature.
  8. A thrust or push; an attempt to stab or strike an adversary.
  9. figuratively A thrust; a sally of wit.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Permission or license to pass, or to go and come. A ship sailing under the flag and pass of an enemy.
  13. 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
  14. An intentional walk. Smith was given a pass after Jones' double.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. obsolete Estimation; character. This passes, Master Ford.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. A run through a document as part of a translation, compilation or reformatting process. Most Pascal compilers process source code in a single pass.

pass³

  • /pɑːs/
  • [pʰɑːs] General South African, UK
  • [pʰäːs] Australia, New Zealand
  • [pʰɐːs] Australia, New Zealand
  • [pʰaːs] Boston
  • /pæs/
  • [pʰæs] Canada, US
  • [pʰɛəs] Canada, US
  • [pʰeəs] Canada, US
  • [pʰas] Ireland, Northern England
  • [pʰæs] Ireland, Northern England
  • [pʰäs] Scotland
  • [pʰeə̯s] New York City

Rhymes with -æs, -ɑːs

Where it comes from

Clipping of password.

noun passes

  1. slang A password (especially one for a restricted-access website). Anyone want to trade passes?

Pass⁴

Where it comes from

* 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.

proper noun

  1. A surname.

PASS⁵

noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of positive alternative to school suspension.positive alternative to school suspension
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of penile artery shunt syndrome.penile artery shunt syndrome
  3. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of personal alert safety system.personal alert safety system
  4. initialism, mnemonic 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.

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