pass·ing (păśĭng)

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adjective 

1. Moving by; going past: The child waved to the passing cars.
2. Of brief duration; transitory: a passing fancy.
3. Cursory or superficial; casual: a passing glance.
4. Allowing one to pass a test, course of study, inspection, or examination; satisfactory: a passing grade.
5. Archaic Very or great; surpassing: “'Tis a passing shame” (Shakespeare)

adverb 

Very; surpassingly: “I will mention only one particular aspect of the current mess because … this one is surely something new and passing strange” (Walker Percy)

noun 

1. The act of one that passes or the fact of having passed: the passing of another summer.
2. A place where or a means by which one can pass.
3. Death.

idioms

in passing

While going by; incidentally.

derivatives

pasśing·ly

adverb

pass (păs)

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[Middle English passen, from Old French passer, from Vulgar Latin passāre, from Latin passus, step; see pace¹.]

verb: passed, pass·ing, pass·es. 

intransitive verb 

1. To move on or ahead; proceed.
2. To extend; run: The river passes through our land.
3. 1. To move by: The band passed and the crowd cheered.
   2. To move past another vehicle: The sports car passed on the right.
4. To gain passage despite obstacles: pass through difficult years.
5. To move past in time; elapse: The days passed quickly.
6. 1. To be transferred from one to another; circulate: The wine passed around the table.
   2. Sports To transfer a ball or puck to a teammate.
7. To be communicated or exchanged between persons: Loud words passed in the corridor.
8. To be transferred or conveyed to another by will or deed: The title passed to the older heir.
9. To undergo transition from one condition, form, quality, or characteristic to another: Daylight passed into darkness.
10. To come to an end: My anger suddenly passed. The headache finally passed.
11. To cease to exist; die. Often used with on: The patient passed on during the night.
12. To happen; take place: What passed during the day?
13. 1. To be allowed to happen without notice or challenge: Let their rude remarks pass.
    2. Sports & Games To decline one's turn to bid, draw, bet, compete, or play.
    3. To decline an offer: When we offered him dessert, he passed.
14. To undergo an examination or a trial with favorable results.
15. 1. To serve as a barely acceptable substitute: The spare tire was nearly bald but would pass until we bought a new one.
    2. To be accepted as a member of a group by denying one's own ancestry or background.
16. To be approved or adopted: The motion to adjourn passed.
17. Law
    1. To pronounce an opinion, judgment, or sentence.
    2. To sit in adjudication.
18. To be voided: Luckily the kidney stone passed before she had to be hospitalized.
19. Sports To thrust or lunge in fencing.

transitive verb 

1. To go by without stopping; leave behind.
2. 1. To go by without paying attention to; disregard or ignore: If you pass the new photographs in the collection, you'll miss some outstanding ones.
   2. To fail to pay (a dividend).
3. To go beyond; surpass: The inheritance passed my wildest dreams.
4. To go across; go through: We passed the border into Mexico.
5. 1. To undergo (a trial or examination) with favorable results: She passed every test.
   2. To cause or allow to go through a trial, test, or examination successfully: The instructor passed all the candidates.
6. 1. To cause to move: We passed our hands over the fabric.
   2. To cause to move into a certain position: pass a ribbon around a package.
   3. To cause to move as part of a process: pass liquid through a filter.
   4. To cause to go by: The sergeant passed his troops before the general and halted them at the grandstand.
   5. Baseball To walk (a batter).
   6. To maneuver (the bull) by means of a pase in bullfighting.
7. To allow to go by or elapse; spend: He passed his winter in Vermont.
8. To allow to cross a barrier: The border guard passed the tourists.
9. 1. To cause to be transferred from one to another; circulate: They passed the news quickly.
   2. To hand over to someone else: Please pass the bread.
   3. Sports To transfer (a ball, for example) to a teammate, as by throwing.
   4. To cause to be accepted; circulate fraudulently: pass counterfeit money.
   5. Law To transfer title or ownership of.
10. To discharge (body waste, for example); void.
11. 1. To approve; adopt: The legislature passed the bill.
    2. To be sanctioned, ratified, or approved by: The bill passed the House of Representatives.
12. To pronounce; utter: pass judgment; pass sentence on an offender.

noun 

1. The act of passing; passage.
2. A way, such as a narrow gap between mountains, that affords passage around, over, or through a barrier. See synonyms at way
3. 1. A permit, ticket, or authorization to come and go at will.
   2. A free ticket entitling one to transportation or admisssion.
   3. Written leave of absence from military duty.
4. 1. A sweep or run, as by an aircraft, over or toward an area or target.
   2. A single complete cycle of operations, as by a machine or computer program.
5. A condition or situation, often critical in nature; a predicament. See synonyms at crisis
6. A sexual invitation or overture.
7. A motion of the hand or the waving of a wand.
8. 1. Sports A transfer of a ball or puck between teammates.
   2. Sports A lunge or thrust in fencing.
   3. Baseball A base on balls.
9. Sports & Games A refusal to bid, draw, bet, compete, or play.
10. Games A winning throw of the dice in craps.
11. A pase in bullfighting.

phrasal verbs

pass away

To pass out of existence; end.

To die.

pass for

To be accepted as or believed to be: You could pass for a teenager. The fake painting passed for an original.

pass off

To offer, sell, or put into circulation (an imitation) as genuine: pass off glass as a gemstone.

To present (one's self) as other than what one is: tried to pass himself off as a banker.

pass out

To lose consciousness.

pass over

To leave out; disregard.

pass up

To let go by; reject: pass up a chance for promotion; an opportunity too good to pass up.

idioms

bring to pass

To cause to happen.

come to pass

To occur.

pass muster

To pass an examination or inspection; measure up to a given standard.

pass (one's) lips

To be eaten or drunk. To issue or be spoken: Rumors never passed her lips.

pass the hat

To take up a collection of money.

pass the time of day

To exchange greetings or engage in pleasantries.

pass the torch

To relinquish (responsibilities, for example) to another or others.

derivatives

pasśer

noun

usage note

Usage Note: The past tense and past participle of pass is passed : They passedhave passedour home. Time had passed slowly. Past is the corresponding adjective ( in centuries past ), adverb ( drove past ), preposition ( past midnight ), and noun ( lived in the past ).