pass
pronunciation
How to pronounce pass in British English:
UK [pɑːs]
How to pronounce pass in American English:
US [ pæs]
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- Noun:
- (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls
- (military) a written leave of absence
- (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
- the location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks
- any authorization to pass or go somewhere
- a document indicating permission to do something without restrictions
- a flight or run by an aircraft over a target
- a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs
- a difficult juncture
- one complete cycle of operations (as by a computer)
- you advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
- a permit to enter or leave a military installation
- a complementary (free) ticket
- a usually brief attempt
- (sports) the act of throwing the ball to another member of your team
- success in satisfying a test or requirement
-
- Verb:
- go across or through
- pass by
- make laws, bills, etc. or bring into effect by legislation
- pass by
- place into the hands or custody of
- stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
- travel past
- come to pass
- go unchallenged; be approved
- pass (time) in a specific way
- guide or pass over something
- transmit information
- disappear gradually
- go successfully through a test or a selection process
- go beyond
- accept or judge as acceptable
- allow to go without comment or censure
- transfer to another; of rights or property
- pass into a specified state or condition
- be identified, regarded, accepted, or mistaken for someone or something else; as by denying one's own ancestry or background
- throw (a ball) to another player
- be inherited by
- cause to pass
- grant authorization or clearance for
- pass from physical life and lose all all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
- eliminate from the body
-
- Adjective:
- of advancing the ball by throwing it
Word Origin
- pass
- pass: [13] Strictly speaking, English has two distinct words pass, although they come from the same ultimate source, and have now virtually merged together again. That source was Latin passus ‘step’, which gave English pace. From it was derived the Vulgar Latin verb *passāre, which came to English via Old French passer. The past participle of the English verb has become past; and other related English words include passage and passenger.The noun pass ‘mountain defile’ originated as a sense of pace, but since the early modern English period has been spelled (and pronounced) pass, partly through reassociation with French pas, partly under the influence of the verb pass.=> pace, passage, passenger
- pass (v.)
- late 13c. (transitive) "to go by (something)," also "to cross over," from Old French passer (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *passare "to step, walk, pass" (source also of Spanish pasar, Italian passare), from Latin passus "step, pace" (see pace (n.)). Intransitive sense of "to go on, to move forward, make one's way" is attested from c. 1300. Figurative sense of "to experience, undergo" (as in pass the time) is first recorded late 14c. Sense of "to go through an examination successfully" is from early 15c. Meaning "decline to do something" is attested from 1869, originally in cards (euchre). In football, hockey, soccer, etc., the meaning "to transfer the ball or puck to another player" is from c. 1865. Related: Passed; passing. The meaning "to be thought to be something one is not" (especially in racial sense) is from 1935, from pass oneself off (as), first found 1809. The general verb sense of "to be accepted as equivalent" is from 1590s. Pass up "decline, refuse" is attested from 1896. Pass the buck is from 1865, said to be poker slang reference to the buck horn-handled knife that was passed around to signify whose turn it was to deal. Pass the hat "seek contributions" is from 1762. Pass-fail as a grading method is attested from 1955, American English.
- pass (n.1)
- "mountain defile," c. 1300, from Old French pas "step, track, passage," from Latin passus "step, pace" (see pace (n.)).
- pass (n.2)
- "written permission to pass into, or through, a place," 1590s, from pass (v.). Sense of "ticket for a free ride or admission" is first found 1838. Colloquial make a pass "offer an amorous advance" first recorded 1928, perhaps from a sporting sense. Phrase come to pass (late 15c.) uses the word with a sense of "completion, accomplishment."
Antonym
vi.
Example
- 1. Even the media 's most venerable institutions didn 't get a pass this year .
- 2. Does goldman pass these tests too ?
- 3. The pass fulfils two major functions .
- 4. I pass a gas station and a convenience store .
- 5. In which direction do I pass the bread basket ?