Pass \Pass\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Passed; p. pr. & vb. n. Passing.]

[F. passer, LL. passare, fr. L. passus step, or from pandere, passum, to spread out, lay open. See Pace.]

1. To go; to move; to proceed; to be moved or transferred from one point to another; to make a transit; -- usually with a following adverb or adverbal phrase defining the kind or manner of motion; as, to pass on, by, out, in, etc.; to pass swiftly, directly, smoothly, etc.; to pass to the rear, under the yoke, over the bridge, across the field, beyond the border, etc. ``But now pass over [i. e., pass on].'' --Chaucer.

On high behests his angels to and fro Passed frequent. --Milton.

Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths, And from their bodies passed. --Coleridge.

2. To move or be transferred from one state or condition to another; to change possession, condition, or circumstances; to undergo transition; as, the business has passed into other hands.

Others, dissatisfied with what they have, . . . pass from just to unjust. --Sir W. Temple.

3. To move beyond the range of the senses or of knowledge; to pass away; hence, to disappear; to vanish; to depart; specifically, to depart from life; to die.

Disturb him not, let him pass paceably. --Shak.

Beauty is a charm, but soon the charm will pass. --Dryden.

The passing of the sweetest soul That ever looked with human eyes. --Tennyson.

4. To move or to come into being or under notice; to come and go in consciousness; hence, to take place; to occur; to happen; to come; to occur progressively or in succession; to be present transitorily.

So death passed upon all men. --Rom. v. 12.

Our own consciousness of what passes within our own mind. --I. Watts.

5. To go by or glide by, as time; to elapse; to be spent; as, their vacation passed pleasantly.

Now the time is far passed. --Mark vi. 35

6. To go from one person to another; hence, to be given and taken freely; as, clipped coin will not pass; to obtain general acceptance; to be held or regarded; to circulate; to be current; -- followed by for before a word denoting value or estimation. ``Let him pass for a man.'' --Shak.

False eloquence passeth only where true is not understood. --Felton.

This will not pass for a fault in him. --Atterbury.

7. To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to validity or effectiveness; to be carried through a body that has power to sanction or reject; to receive legislative sanction; to be enacted; as, the resolution passed; the bill passed both houses of Congress.

8. To go through any inspection or test successfully; to be approved or accepted; as, he attempted the examination, but did not expect to pass.

9. To be suffered to go on; to be tolerated; hence, to continue; to live along. ``The play may pass.'' --Shak.

10. To go unheeded or neglected; to proceed without hindrance or opposition; as, we let this act pass.

12. To take heed; to care. [Obs.]

As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass not. --Shak.

13. To go through the intestines. --Arbuthnot.

14. (Law) To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or other instrument of conveyance; as, an estate passes by a certain clause in a deed. --Mozley & W.

15. (Fencing) To make a lunge or pass; to thrust.

16. (Card Playing & other games) To decline to take an optional action when it is one's turn, as to decline to bid, or to bet, or to play a card; in euchre, to decline to make the trump.

She would not play, yet must not pass. --Prior.

17. In football, hockey, etc., to make a pass; to transfer the ball, etc., to another player of one's own side. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

To bring to pass, To come to pass. See under Bring, and Come.

To pass away, to disappear; to die; to vanish. ``The heavens shall pass away.'' --2 Pet. iii. 10. ``I thought to pass away before, but yet alive I am.'' --Tennyson.

To pass by, to go near and beyond a certain person or place; as, he passed by as we stood there.

To pass into, to change by a gradual transmission; to blend or unite with.

To pass on, to proceed.

To pass on or upon.
   (a) To happen to; to come upon; to affect. ``So death passed upon all men.'' --Rom. v. 12. ``Provided no indirect act pass upon our prayers to define them.'' --Jer. Taylor.
   (b) To determine concerning; to give judgment or sentence upon. ``We may not pass upon his life.'' --Shak.

To pass off, to go away; to cease; to disappear; as, an agitation passes off.

To pass over, to go from one side or end to the other; to cross, as a river, road, or bridge.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)