Meaning & Definition of Passing in English

1. (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. Euphemistic expressions for death

• "Thousands mourned his passing"

3. The motion of one object relative to another

• "Stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets"

4. The end of something

• "The passing of winter"

5. A bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another

• "The passage of air from the lungs"

• "The passing of flatus"

6. 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. Success in satisfying a test or requirement

• "His future depended on his passing that test"

• "He got a pass in introductory chemistry"

1. 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"

2. Of advancing the ball by throwing it

• "A team with a good passing attack"

• "A pass play"

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

• "A passing grade"

4. 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"

1. To an extreme degree

• "Extremely cold"

• "Extremely unpleasant"