Definition of Passing

1. Noun. (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate. "The coach sent in a passing play on third and long"

Exact synonyms: Pass, Passing Game, Passing Play
Category relationships: American Football, American Football Game
Generic synonyms: Football Play
Specialized synonyms: Aerial, Forward Pass, Lateral, Lateral Pass, Spot Pass
Derivative terms: Pass, Pass

2. Adjective. Lasting a very short time. "Fugacious blossoms"

3. Adverb. To an extreme degree. "Extremely unpleasant"
Exact synonyms: Exceedingly, Extremely, Super
Partainyms: Extreme

4. Noun. Euphemistic expressions for death. "Thousands mourned his passing"
Exact synonyms: Departure, Exit, Expiration, Going, Loss, Release
Language type: Euphemism
Generic synonyms: Death, Decease, Expiry
Derivative terms: Depart, Depart, Depart, Exit, Expire, Go, Pass

5. Adjective. Of advancing the ball by throwing it. "A pass play"
Exact synonyms: Pass
Category relationships: Football, Football Game
Antonyms: Running

6. Noun. The motion of one object relative to another. "Stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets"
Exact synonyms: Passage
Generic synonyms: Motion, Movement
Derivative terms: Pass, Pass

7. Adjective. Allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily. "A passing grade"
Similar to: Satisfactory

8. Noun. The end of something. "The passing of winter"
Generic synonyms: End, Final Stage, Last
Derivative terms: Pass

9. Adjective. Hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough. "Perfunctory courtesy"
Exact synonyms: Casual, Cursory, Perfunctory
Similar to: Careless
Derivative terms: Casualness

10. Noun. A bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another. "The passing of flatus"
Exact synonyms: Passage
Generic synonyms: Reaction, Response
Derivative terms: Pass

11. Noun. Going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it. "She drove but well but her reckless passing of every car on the road frightened me"
Exact synonyms: Overtaking
Generic synonyms: Reordering
Derivative terms: Overtake, Overtake, Pass

12. Noun. Success in satisfying a test or requirement. "He got a pass in introductory chemistry"
Exact synonyms: Pass, Qualifying
Generic synonyms: Success
Antonyms: Failing
Derivative terms: Pass, Pass, Qualify

Definition of Passing


2. a. Relating to the act of passing or going; going by, beyond, through, or away; departing.

3. adv. Exceedingly; excessively; surpassingly; as, passing fair; passing strange.

Definition of Passing

1. Verb. (present participle of pass) ¹

2. Adjective. That passes away; ephemeral. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

3. Adjective. (context: now rare literary) Pre-eminent, excellent. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

4. Adjective. vague, cursory. (defdate from 18th c.) ¹

5. Adverb. (context: now literary or archaic) Surpassingly, greatly. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

6. Noun. Death, dying; the end of something. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

7. Noun. The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another. (defdate from 14th c.) ¹

8. Noun. (legal) The act of approving a bill etc. (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

9. Noun. (sports) The act of passing a ball etc. to another player. (defdate from 19th c.) ¹

10. Noun. A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings. ¹

¹ Source:

Definition of Passing

1. a death [n -S] - See also: death

Passing Pictures


Literary usage of Passing


1. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by James George Frazer (1900)
"... it is natural that his representative—the passing stranger—should upbraid them ; and it is equally natural that they should seek to disable him from ..."

2. Dictionary of National Biography by LESLIE. STEPHEN (1891)
"... appointed by the privy council in October 1689 'to give his attendance for passing bills of suspension and all other bills according to the common form. ..."

3. The Complete Works of Gustave Flaubert: Embracing Romances, Travels by Gustave Flaubert, Ferdinand Brunetière (1904)
"The people who were passing came up to them and informed them that the Duchesse d'Orléans had been appointed Regent, and that it was all over. ..."

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