pass

—passless, adj.

/pas, pahs/, v.t.

1. to move past; go by: to pass another car on the road.

2. to let go without notice, action, remark, etc.; leave unconsidered; disregard; overlook: Pass chapter two and go on to chapter three.

3. to omit the usual or regular payment of: The company decided to pass its dividend in the third quarter of the year.

4. to cause or allow to go through or beyond a gate, barrier, etc.: The guard checked the identification papers and then passed the visitor.

5. to go across or over (a stream, threshold, etc.); cross.

6. to endure or undergo: They passed the worst night of their lives.

7. to undergo or complete successfully: to pass an examination.

8. to cause or permit to complete successfully (an investigation, examination, course of study, etc.): I am passing the whole class this term.

9. to go beyond (a point, degree, stage, etc.); transcend; exceed; surpass.

10. to cause to go or extend farther: to pass a rope through a hole.

11. to cause to go, move, or march by: to pass troops in review.

12. to allot to oneself (a portion of time); spend: He decided to pass a year abroad.

13. to live through, utilize, or fill; occupy oneself during: How to pass the time?

14. to cause to circulate or spread; disseminate: to pass rumors.

15. to cause to be accepted or received: to pass a worthless check.

16. to convey, transfer, or transmit; deliver (often fol. by on): Pass this memo on after reading it.

17. to convey from one person, hand, etc., to another: Please pass the salt.

18. to pledge: to pass one's word of honor to remain loyal.

19. to utter, pronounce, or speak: She passed a remark about every passerby.

20. to cause to go through something, as a process or agency: to pass returning travelers through customs.

21. to discharge or void from the body, as excrement or a kidney stone.

22. to sanction or approve, esp. by vote: Congress passed the bill.

23. to obtain the approval or sanction of (a legislative body, committee, etc.), esp. by a vote: The bill passed Congress on the second vote.

24. to express or pronounce, as an opinion: to pass judgment without knowing the facts.

25. Law. to place legal title or interest in (another) by a conveyance, a will, or other transfer.

26. (in feats of magic) to perform a pass on.

27. Tennis. to make a passing shot against (an opponent).

28. Sports. to transfer (the ball or puck) to a teammate.

29. Bullfighting. (of a bullfighter) to provoke and guide the charge of (a bull) with the capa or esp. the muleta.

v.i.

30. to go or move onward; proceed.

31. to come to or toward, then go beyond: to pass by a shop; to pass through town.

32. to go away; depart: The dizzy feeling will pass in a minute.

33. to elapse or slip by; be spent: The day passed very quickly for him.

34. to come to an end: The crisis soon passed.

35. to die.

36. to take place; happen; occur: What passed while I was on vacation?

37. to go by or move past: The funeral procession passed slowly.

38. to go about or circulate; be current.

39. to serve as a marginally acceptable substitute: The facsimile isn't very good but it will pass.

40. to live or be known as a member of a racial, religious, or ethnic group other than one's own, esp. to live and be known as a white person although of black ancestry.

41. to be transferred or conveyed: The crown passed to the king's nephew.

42. to be interchanged, as between two persons: Sharp words passed between them.

43. to undergo transition or conversion: to pass from a solid to a liquid state.

44. to go or get through a barrier, test, course of study, etc., successfully: Of the twenty who took the exam, only twelve passed.

45. to go unheeded, unchallenged, or unremarked on: He decided to let the insult pass.

46. to express or pronounce an opinion, judgment, verdict, etc. (usually fol. by on or upon): Will you pass on the authenticity of this drawing?

47. to be voided, as excrement or a kidney stone.

48. to obtain the vote of approval or sanction of a legislative body, official committee, or the like: The new tax bill finally passed.

49. Law.

a. (of a member of an inquest or other deliberative body) to sit (usually fol. by on or upon): to pass on a case of manslaughter.

b. to adjudicate.

c. to vest title or other legal interest in real or personal property in a new owner.

50. to throw a ball from one person to another, as in a game of catch.

51. Sports. to make a pass, as in football or ice hockey.

52. Cards.

a. to forgo one's opportunity to bid, play, etc.

b. to throw in one's hand.

53. Fencing Obs. to thrust or lunge.

54. bring to pass, to cause to happen; bring about: His wife's death brought to pass a change in his attitude toward religion.

55. come to pass, to occur; happen: Strange things came to pass.

56. pass along or through, to add (incurred extra costs or expenses) to the amount charged a client or customer: Airlines were passing along the sudden increase in fuel prices.

57. pass away,

a. to cease; end: All this trouble will pass away.

b. to die: He passed away during the night.

58. pass for, to be accepted as; be considered: material that passed for silk.

59. pass muster. See muster (def. 11).

60. pass off,

a. to present or offer (something) under false pretenses; dispose of deceptively: to pass off a spurious de Kooning on a gullible buyer.

b. to cause to be accepted or received under a false identity: He passed himself off as a doctor.

c. to cease gradually; end: The headache passed off in the late afternoon.

d. to disregard or ignore.

e. to continue to completion; occur: The meeting passed off without incident.

61. pass on, to die: The patient passed on after a long illness.

62. pass out, Informal.

a. to lose consciousness; faint.

b. to die; pass away.

c. to distribute, esp. individually by hand: to pass out discount coupons on a street corner.

d. to walk or march out or through; leave or exit by means of: The graduates will pass out the center aisle after receiving their diplomas. Pass out this door and turn left.

e. to be exempted or promoted from: Jerry passed out of freshman composition on the basis of his entering essay.

63. pass over,

a. to disregard; ignore: Just pass over the first part of his letter.

b. to fail to take notice of or consider: He was passed over for the promotion.

64. pass up, to refuse or neglect to take advantage of; reject: The opportunity may not come again, so don't pass it up.

n.

65. an act of passing.

66. a narrow route across a relatively low notch or depression in a mountain barrier.

67. a road, channel, or other way providing a means of passage, as through an obstructed region or other barrier.

68. a navigable channel, as at the mouth or in the delta of a river.

69. a permission or license to pass, go, come, or enter.

70. Mil.

a. a military document granting the right to cross lines or to enter or leave a military or naval base or building.

b. written authority given a soldier to leave a station or duty for a specified period of time.

71. a free ticket or permit: two passes to a concert; a railroad pass.

72. South African. See reference book (def. 2).

73. Chiefly Brit. the act of passing a university or school examination or course without honors or distinction.

74. Sports. the transfer of a ball or puck from one teammate to another.

75. Baseball. See base on balls.

76. Fencing. a thrust or lunge.

77. a single movement, effort, maneuver, etc.: He made a pass at the control tower of the enemy airfield.

78. Informal.

a. a gesture, action, or remark that is intended to be sexually inviting; amorous overture.

b. a jab or poke with the arm, esp. one that misses its mark.

79. Cards. the act or statement of not bidding or raising another bid: There have been two passes and now it's your bid.

80. (in feats of magic)

a. a passing of the hand over, along, or before anything.

b. the transference or changing of objects by or as by sleight of hand; a manipulation, as of a juggler.

81. a particular stage or state of affairs: The economic situation had come to a dreadful pass.

82. Bullfighting. a pase.

83. one passage of a tool over work or one passage of work through a machine.

84. Archaic. a witty remark or thrust.

85. Mining. an opening for delivering coal or ore to a lower level underground.

[1175-1225; (v.) ME passen < OF passer < VL *passare, deriv. of L passus step, PACE¹; (n.) ME; in part < MF passe (n. deriv. of passer), in part n. deriv. of passen]

Syn. 2. ignore. 9. excel. 22. enact. 32. leave. 34. expire, cease, terminate, vanish, fade, disappear. 57b. See die¹. 66. saddle, col. 81. juncture, situation, condition.

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(as used in expressions)

Arthur's Pass

Great Saint Bernard Pass

Gumal Pass

Gomal Pass

Khyber Pass

Little St. Bernard Pass

Saint Gotthard Pass

San Bernardino Pass

Shipka Pass

Simplon Pass

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