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to pass

to pass

761 1.0
To spend time doing something
  • verb
  • /pæs/
translation icon : pasar (el tiempo)
  • While we wait for the train, we can chat and let time pass pleasantly.
  • time passed
  • years passed
  • months passed

More than double that amount of time has passed now, right?

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Examples

  • Just trying to figure out how to pass the time, right?

  • OK, so six weeks have passed and I'm here to share my results.

  • Now a couple weeks pass and what happens?

  • And sure enough, weeks pass and no one has signed up.

  • But just know that a week has passed since I lost.

  • And time passed and he called me.

  • For as fast as time passes, change can be glacially slow.

  • And it is because time passes and time cures all things.

  • Do children become less intelligent as they pass through the K-12 years?

    Academic text (2012)
  • Raymond... why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?

Synonyms

to spend
vsto pass
1.0

To use time doing something you choose

is broader, including both using time and time simply passing
to go by
vsto pass
268 1.0

For time to pass

is similar but also covers actively using a period for tasks
to slip away
vsto pass
32 3.0

For time to pass without anyone noticing

covers that gradual loss but also neutral or active time use
to get through
vsto pass
28 3.3

To pass a time that is difficult or boring

can mean simple time passing as well as enduring a period
to elapse
vsto pass
19 5.1

Time passes without being noticed

is more general, covering both unnoticed flow and active use
to slip by
vsto pass
11 3.8

To go past quickly without anyone noticing, as with time or chances

is broader, applying to general time flow and active time use
to slide by
vsto pass
2 4.2

Time passes smoothly without you noticing

also includes deliberately using time for activities rather than just flowing
to lapse
vsto pass
1 4.0

To pass, as time between events

is broader, also meaning to actively spend a period doing things
to glide by
vsto pass
1 3.9

Time that passes quickly without you noticing

is wider, including slower or intentionally used periods too

Idioms

To do very well in a test or task, often easily

Give responsibility for your job to the person who will replace you

3 7.8

Seem honest and believable when people check it

1 3.5

To give responsibility or control to another person during a planned change

do not pass go
  • Informal
9.1

To refuse someone any further chance and make them leave immediately

To ask or hope, often in prayer, not to have a hard time

Phrasal Verbs

255 2.7

To travel through a place without stopping for long

188 3.7

To faint or lose consciousness suddenly

165 1.2

Go past someone or something without stopping

134 2.7

To give something to another person, often information or a message

76 2.5

Give news, a message, or something you received to another person

73 3.6

Decide not to accept something, for example an offer or food

68 2.7

To give things to people in a group, like papers or drinks

63 4.1

To choose not to accept a good offer or chance

48 2.8

Give traditions, stories, or things to younger family members

To make a liquid or gas go through a filter

Form an opinion about someone or something, often a critical one

Hand something to each person in a group

28 4.1

To ignore someone or something on purpose

26 3.3

To move across a place, often above the ground

23 3.4

Give something to a teacher or official for them to check

18 6.9

To make something or someone look real when they are not

17 3.0

Go past without being noticed or taken

14 5.2

To move across an enemy line to reach the other side

12 3.5

To slowly disappear or stop existing

To be seen as good enough after a check

8 3.8

To die peacefully in a gentle, respectful way

5 5.9

To let gas out from your bottom

Make information spread among many people

to pass the hat
  • Informal
3 5.5

To ask people to give money for a person or cause

2 4.1

To treat criticism or an insult as not important

1 3.7

To move something gently over a surface

to pass up
  • Informal
1 4.7

To ignore someone you meet by pretending not to see them

1 3.4

Give something back to the person who had it

to pass down
  • Specialized
1 4.8

Send a value or setting from a main part of a program to its smaller parts

1 6.5

To let gas from inside your body out through your bottom

to pass go
  • Informal
6.7

To start the next step of a plan without delay

To become less strong over time

To release gas or a bad smell quietly

7.6

To let urine come out of your body

Compounds

20 2.4

A paper or digital ticket that lets a passenger get on a plane

free pass
  • Informal
18 4.2

An excuse that lets someone avoid rules or blame because of their position

13 2.3

A written note from a teacher that allows a student to leave class and go into the hallway

11 3.4

A ticket that lets someone enter a place without paying

A low route through mountains that people or vehicles use

Hail Mary pass
  • Informal
4 8.4

A risky final attempt to succeed when little time remains

screen pass
  • Jargon
4 6.1

A short forward pass where teammates block to protect the receiver

2 3.8

A throw toward the opponent's end to move the ball downfield

pass catcher
  • Jargon
1 5.4

A player who receives forward passes, like a wide receiver or tight end

low-pass filter
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A device that lets slow changes in signals pass and reduces fast changes

hall pass
  • NSFW
1 8.3

Permission from a partner to be romantic or sexual with someone outside the relationship

1 3.9

An opening between a kitchen and dining room for passing food

1 2.8

A successful forward pass caught by a teammate

1 7.4

A mountain road through the Alps that links Innsbruck in Austria with Bolzano in Italy

1 7.1

A narrow mountain route between Pakistan and Afghanistan used for trade and army movements

8.0

A high mountain pass near Lake Tahoe where trapped pioneers ate human flesh to survive

flare pass
  • Jargon
7.0

A short forward pass to a player running toward the sideline in American football

forward pass
  • Specialized
4.6

A run of input data through a model to produce predictions

kitchen pass
  • Jargon
7.9

Permission to stop cooking for a short time, often said as a joke

lateral pass
  • Jargon
5.8

A pass that goes sideways or backward instead of forward in American football

high-pass filter
  • Specialized
4.4

An electronic part that lets high sounds pass and reduces low sounds

8.6

A risky pass that puts someone in danger or trouble

pussy pass
  • Slur
9.9

Special, unfair treatment given to a woman by others because of her gender

pass-through
  • Specialized
5.1

A setting that lets signals or data pass through unchanged to another device

pass receiver
  • Jargon
3.9

A football player who catches passes from the quarterback

pass-back
  • Specialized
3.2

A ball moved backward to a teammate to keep possession

4.2

Sending a file back to the person who handled it before for review

spot pass
  • Jargon
5.7

A throw that aims the ball at a planned place for the receiver to catch

How Fast

to fly by
23 3.3
to flow
259 1.6
to pass
761 1.0
drag
  • Informal
80 4.2
crawl
19 2.7

Surface Forms

pass infinitive
passed past
passed past participle
passing present participle
passes third person singular

Etymology

Pass comes from the Old French passer and the Latin passus, meaning 'to move' or 'go by'. To 'pass' time is to let time go by, watching it move past you like people or things on a road.