Definitions for passing
ˈpæs ɪŋ, ˈpɑ sɪŋpass·ing

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. pass, passing play, passing game, passing(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"

2. passing, loss, departure, exit, expiration, going, release(noun)

   euphemistic expressions for death

   "thousands mourned his passing"

3. passing, passage(noun)

   the motion of one object relative to another

   "stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets"

4. passing(noun)

   the end of something

   "the passing of winter"

5. passage, passing(noun)

   a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another

   "the passage of air from the lungs"; "the passing of flatus"

6. passing, overtaking(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"

7. passing, pass, qualifying(adj)

   success in satisfying a test or requirement

   "his future depended on his passing that test"; "he got a pass in introductory chemistry"

8. ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory, fugacious(adj)

   lasting a very short time

   "the ephemeral joys of childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient beauty"; "love is transitory but it is eternal"; "fugacious blossoms"

9. passing(a), pass(a)(adj)

   of advancing the ball by throwing it

   "a team with a good passing attack"; "a pass play"

10. passing(a)(adj)

    allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily

    "a passing grade"

11. casual, cursory, passing(a), perfunctory(adverb)

    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough

    "a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws"; "a passing glance"; "perfunctory courtesy"

12. extremely, exceedingly, super, passing(adverb)

    to an extreme degree

    "extremely cold"; "extremely unpleasant"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. passing(Noun)

   Death, dying; the end of something.

2. passing(Noun)

   The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another.

3. passing(Noun)

   The act of approving a bill etc.

4. passing(Noun)

   The act of passing a ball etc. to another player.

5. passing(Noun)

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

6. passing(Adverb)

   Surpassingly, greatly.

7. passing(Adjective)

   That passes away; ephemeral.

8. passing(Adjective)

   Pre-eminent, excellent.

9. passing(Adjective)

   vague, cursory.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Passing

   of Pass

2. Passing(noun)

   the act of one who, or that which, passes; the act of going by or away

3. Passing(adj)

   relating to the act of passing or going; going by, beyond, through, or away; departing

4. Passing(adj)

   exceeding; surpassing, eminent

5. Passing(adverb)

   exceedingly; excessively; surpassingly; as, passing fair; passing strange

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Passing

   Passing is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of social groups other than his or her own, such as a different race, ethnicity, social class, gender, intelligence, age and/or disability status, generally with the purpose of gaining social acceptance. This may take the form of changing only one group from the person's own, such as a person's dressing so as to pretend to be of a higher social class. Etymologically, the term is simply a clipped form of the phrasal verb pass for or pass as, as in a counterfeit passing for the genuine article or an impostor passing as another person. It has been in popular use since at least the late 1920s.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Passing

   pas′ing, adj. going by, through, or away: happening now: surpassing.—adv. exceedingly: very.—ns. Pass′ing-bell, a bell tolled immediately after a person's death, originally to invite prayers for the soul passing into eternity; Pass′ing-note (mus.), a smaller note marking a tone introduced between two others, to effect a smooth passage from the one to the other, but forming no essential part of the harmony.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'passing' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3659

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'passing' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3765

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'passing' in Adjectives Frequency: #910

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of passing in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of passing in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of passing in a Sentence

1. Adrienne Jacobson:

   It was in passing.

2. Du Bois:

   Of the Passing of the First-Born.

3. Duke Ellington:

   Gray skies are just clouds passing over.

4. Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis:

   But passing the relevant law won't be enough.

5. President Barack Obama:

   It's never fun passing a trade bill in this town.

Images & Illustrations of passing

Popularity rank by frequency of use