PASS


Meaning of PASS in English

/ pɑːs; NAmE pæs/ verb , noun

■ verb

MOVE

1.

to move past or to the other side of sb/sth :

[ v ]

Several people were passing but nobody offered to help.

I hailed a passing taxi.

The road was so narrow that cars were unable to pass.

[ vn ]

to pass a barrier / sentry / checkpoint

You'll pass a bank on the way to the train station.

She passed me in the street without even saying hello.

( especially NAmE )

There was a truck behind that was trying to pass me.

HELP NOTE : The usual word in British English is overtake .

2.

[ v + adv. / prep. ] to go or move in the direction mentioned :

The procession passed slowly along the street.

A plane passed low overhead.

3.

[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to make sth move in the direction or into the position mentioned :

He passed the rope around the post three times to secure it.

GIVE

4.

pass sth (to sb) | pass sb sth to give sth to sb by putting it into their hands or in a place where they can easily reach it :

[ vn ]

Pass the salt, please.

[ vn , vnn ]

Pass that book over.

Pass me over that book.

BALL

5.

pass (sth) (to sb) ( in ball games ) to kick, hit or throw the ball to a player of your own side :

[ vn ]

He passed the ball to Owen.

[ v ]

Why do they keep passing back to the goalie?

AFTER DEATH

6.

[ v ] pass to sb to be given to another person after first belonging to sb else, especially after the first person has died :

On his death, the title passed to his eldest son.

BECOME GREATER

7.

[ vn ] ( of an amount ) to become greater than a particular total

SYN exceed :

Unemployment has now passed the three million mark .

CHANGE

8.

[ v ] pass from sth to / into sth to change from one state or condition to another :

She had passed from childhood to early womanhood.

TIME

9.

[ v ] when time passes , it goes by :

Six months passed and we still had no news of them.

We grew more anxious with every passing day .

10.

[ vn ] to spend time, especially when you are bored or waiting for sth :

We sang songs to pass the time .

How did you pass the evening?

END

11.

[ v ] to come to an end; to be over :

They waited for the storm to pass.

TEST / EXAM

12.

to achieve the required standard in an exam, a test, etc. :

[ v ]

I'm not really expecting to pass first time.

[ vn ]

She hasn't passed her driving test yet.

OPP fail

13.

[ vn ] to test sb and decide that they are good enough, according to an agreed standard :

The examiners passed all the candidates.

OPP fail

LAW / PROPOSAL

14.

[ vn ] to accept a proposal, law, etc. by voting :

The bill was passed by 360 votes to 280.

HAPPEN

15.

[ v ] to be allowed :

I don't like it, but I'll let it pass (= will not object) .

Her remarks passed without comment (= people ignored them) .

16.

pass (between A and B) to happen; to be said or done :

[ v ]

They'll never be friends again after all that has passed between them.

[ v - adj ]

His departure passed unnoticed .

NOT KNOW

17.

[ v ] pass (on sth) to say that you do not know the answer to a question, especially during a quiz :

'What's the capital of Peru?' 'I'll have to pass on that one.'

'Who wrote 'Catch-22'?' 'Pass (= I don't know) .'

NOT WANT

18.

[ v ] pass (on sth) to say that you do not want sth that is offered to you :

Thanks. I'm going to pass on dessert, if you don't mind.

SAY / STATE STH

19.

[ vn ] pass sth (on sb/sth) to say or state sth, especially officially :

The court waited in silence for the judge to pass sentence .

It's not for me to pass judgement on your behaviour.

The man smiled at the girl and passed a friendly remark.

BELIEF / UNDERSTANDING

20.

[ vn ] pass belief, understanding, etc. ( formal ) to go beyond the limits of what you can believe, understand, etc. :

It passes belief (= is impossible to believe) that she could do such a thing.

IN CARD GAMES

21.

[ v ] to refuse to play a card or make a bid when it is your turn

FROM THE BODY

22.

[ vn ] to send sth out from the body as or with waste matter :

If you're passing blood you ought to see a doctor.

IDIOMS

- come to pass

- not pass your lips

- pass the hat round / around

- pass muster

- pass the time of day (with sb)

- pass water

PHRASAL VERBS

- pass sth around / round

- pass as sb/sth

- pass away

- pass by (sb/sth)

- pass sb/sth by

- pass sth down

- pass for / as sb/sth

- pass into sth

- pass off

- pass sb / yourself / sth off as sb/sth

- pass on

- pass sth on (to sb)

- pass out

- pass out (of sth)

- pass sb over

- pass over sth

- pass through ...

- pass sth up

■ noun

IN EXAM

1.

( especially BrE ) a successful result in an exam :

She got a pass in French.

12 passes and 3 fails

Two A-level passes are needed for this course.

The pass mark is 50%.

The school has a 90% pass rate (= 90% of students pass their exams) .

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT

2.

an official document or ticket that shows that you have the right to enter or leave a place, to travel on a bus or train, etc. :

a boarding pass (= for a plane)

There is no admittance without a security pass.

—see also bus pass

OF BALL

3.

(in some sports) an act of hitting or throwing the ball to another player in your team :

a long pass to Rooney

a back pass to the goalkeeper

THROUGH MOUNTAINS

4.

a road or way over or through mountains :

a mountain pass

MOVING PAST / OVER

5.

an act of going or moving past or over sth :

The helicopter made several passes over the village before landing.

STAGE IN PROCESS

6.

a stage in a process, especially one that involves separating things from a larger group :

In the first pass all the addresses are loaded into the database.

IDIOMS

- come to such a pass | come to a pretty pass

- make a pass at sb

••

WORD ORIGIN

verb and noun senses 1 to 3 noun senses 5 to 6 Middle English : from Old French passer , based on Latin passus pace.

noun sense 4 Middle English (in the sense division of a text, passage through ): variant of pace (I), influenced by pass (verb) and French pas .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.