passing Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. noun (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
   passing play; passing game; pass.
   
   • the coach sent in a passing play on third and long
2. noun euphemistic expressions for death
   loss; departure; going; exit; expiration; release.
   
   • thousands mourned his passing
3. noun the motion of one object relative to another
   passage.
   
   • stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets
4. noun the end of something
   
   • the passing of winter
5. noun a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another
   passage.
   
   • the passage of air from the lungs
   • the passing of flatus
6. noun going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it
   overtaking.
   
   • she drove but well but her reckless passing of every car on the road frightened me
7. noun success in satisfying a test or requirement
   qualifying; pass.
   
   • his future depended on his passing that test
   • he got a pass in introductory chemistry
8. verb go across or through
   go through; go across; pass.
   
   • We passed the point where the police car had parked
   • A terrible thought went through his mind
9. verb move past
   travel by; pass by; go by; go past; surpass; pass.
   
   • A black limousine passed by when she looked out the window
   • He passed his professor in the hall
   • One line of soldiers surpassed the other
10. verb make laws, bills, etc. or bring into effect by legislation
    legislate; pass.
    
    • They passed the amendment
    • We cannot legislate how people spend their free time
11. verb pass by
    elapse; go along; lapse; slip away; go by; glide by; slip by; pass; slide by.
    
    • three years elapsed
12. verb place into the hands or custody of
    give; turn over; reach; hand; pass; pass on.
    
    • hand me the spoon, please
    • Turn the files over to me, please
    • He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers
13. verb stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
    go; run; extend; lead; pass.
    
    • Service runs all the way to Cranbury
    • His knowledge doesn't go very far
    • My memory extends back to my fourth year of life
    • The facts extend beyond a consideration of her personal assets
14. verb travel past
    overtake; overhaul; pass.
    
    • The sports car passed all the trucks
15. verb come to pass
    fall out; pass off; come about; pass; hap; happen; take place; occur; go on.
    
    • What is happening?
    • The meeting took place off without an incidence
    • Nothing occurred that seemed important
16. verb go unchallenged; be approved
    clear; pass.
    
    • The bill cleared the House
17. verb pass time in a specific way
    spend; pass.
    
    • how are you spending your summer vacation?
18. verb pass over, across, or through
    draw; run; guide; pass.
    
    • He ran his eyes over her body
    • She ran her fingers along the carved figurine
    • He drew her hair through his fingers
19. verb transmit information
    put across; pass along; communicate; pass on; pass.
    
    • Please communicate this message to all employees
    • pass along the good news
20. verb disappear gradually
    blow over; fade; pass; evanesce; fleet; pass off.
    
    • The pain eventually passed off
21. verb go successfully through a test or a selection process
    make it; pass.
    
    • She passed the new Jersey Bar Exam and can practice law now
22. verb be superior or better than some standard
    transcend; exceed; top; overstep; go past; pass.
    
    • She exceeded our expectations
    • She topped her performance of last year
23. verb accept or judge as acceptable
    pass.
    
    • The teacher passed the student although he was weak
24. verb allow to go without comment or censure
    pass.
    
    • the insult passed as if unnoticed
25. verb transfer to another; of rights or property
    pass.
    
    • Our house passed under his official control
26. verb pass into a specified state or condition
    lapse; sink; pass.
    
    • He sank into nirvana
27. verb throw (a ball) to another player
    pass.
    
    • Smith passed
28. verb be inherited by
    devolve; pass; return; fall.
    
    • The estate fell to my sister
    • The land returned to the family
    • The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead
29. verb cause to pass
    make pass; pass.
    
    • She passed around the plates
30. verb grant authorization or clearance for
    authorize; clear; authorise; pass.
    
    • Clear the manuscript for publication
    • The rock star never authorized this slanderous biography
31. verb pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
    decease; give-up the ghost; pop off; perish; die; buy the farm; snuff it; choke; drop dead; pass away; expire; exit; croak; pass; go; kick the bucket; conk; cash in one's chips.
    
    • She died from cancer
    • The children perished in the fire
    • The patient went peacefully
    • The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102
32. verb eliminate from the body
    excrete; pass; egest; eliminate.
    
    • Pass a kidney stone
33. adjective satellite lasting a very short time
    short-lived; ephemeral; transitory; transient; fugacious.
    
    • the ephemeral joys of childhood
    • a passing fancy
    • youth's transient beauty
    • love is transitory but it is eternal
    • fugacious blossoms
34. adjective of advancing the ball by throwing it
    pass.
    
    • a team with a good passing attack
    • a pass play
35. adjective satellite allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily
    
    • a passing grade
36. adjective satellite hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
    perfunctory; cursory; casual.
    
    • a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws
    • a passing glance
    • perfunctory courtesy
37. adverb to an extreme degree
    super; exceedingly; extremely.
    
    • extremely cold
    • extremely unpleasant

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