Pass Meaning
/pɑːs/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo change place.
verbTo change place., To move or be moved from one place to another.
Sentence Examples
"Pass me the salt, please." "Here you are."
In a town you may pass unnoticed, whereas in a village it's impossible.
I'm not really expecting to pass first time.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To avoid being late, the driver decided to ____ the slow truck on the left lane.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She managed to ____ the driving test on her third attempt after months of additional practice.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom. Displaced native Old English genġan.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he passed. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the parent ship, had recently been painted a vivid green."
— 1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:
"I had only time to pass my eye over the medals."
— 1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"Waller […] passed over five thousand horse and foot by Newbridge."
— 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater:
"Brady passed the ball to nine different receivers and handed it off to seven."
— 2017 September 18, Nicole Yang, “What you need to know about the Patriots’ big win — and their next opponent”, in Boston Globe:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To avoid being late, the driver decided to ____ the slow truck on the left lane.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She managed to ____ the driving test on her third attempt after months of additional practice.