passing

1 of 3

noun

pass·​ing ˈpa-siŋ 

: the act of one that passes or causes to pass

especially : death sense 1a

passing

2 of 3

adjective

1

: going by or past

a passing pedestrian

2

: having a brief duration

a passing whim

3

obsolete : surpassing

4

: superficial

a passing acquaintance

a passing resemblance

5

a

: of, relating to, or used in or for the act or process of passing

passing lanes

b

: given on satisfactory completion of an examination or course of study

a passing grade

passing

3 of 3

adverb

: to a surpassing degree : exceedingly

passing strange

Phrases

in passing

: by the way : incidentally

Synonyms

Noun

• curtains
• death
• decease
• demise
• dissolution
• doom
• end
• exit
• expiration
• expiry
• fate
• grave
• great divide
• passage
• quietus
• sleep

Adjective

• brief
• deciduous
• ephemeral
• evanescent
• flash
• fleeting
• fugacious
• fugitive
• impermanent
• momentary
• short-lived
• temporary
• transient
• transitory

Adverb

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• heavily
• highly
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of passing in a Sentence

Noun

After her husband's passing, she moved to a smaller house.

We all mourned his passing.

Adjective

Someone called out from a passing car.

She sells flowers to passing motorists.

Let's hope that these shoes are just a passing fad.

a passing phase in childhood

Adverb

a passing strange turn of events

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Bindi Irwin's Daughter Grace Mistakes Her Brother Robert for Their Dad Steve, Calls Him 'Grandpa Crocodile' Following the conservationist’s tragic passing, however, Terri became the strongest person in Bindi’s life. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025

Chris Kreider drew a hook driving to the net, and brilliant passing set up a goal. —Peter Baugh, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025

Adjective

With the passing last year of Dickey Betts, combined with the deaths in the last decade of Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks, tributes to the Allman Brothers Band have taken on a new poignancy. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2025

Another simple factor to keep in mind: Beyoncé, 43, and Lamar, 37, have built bodies of work whose significance gets, with each passing year, harder and harder to deny. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing passing

• mention only in passing
• more than a passing acquaintance with
• passing fancy
• passing game
• passing lane
• passing note
• passing shot
• with each passing hour
• with each passing month

Kids Definition

passing

1 of 2 noun

pass·​ing ˈpas-iŋ 

1

: the act of one that passes or causes to pass

2

: death sense 1

passing

2 of 2 adjective

1

: going by or past

the passing crowd

2

: lasting only for a short time

especially : showing haste or lack of attention : hasty, superficial

a passing glance

3

: used for the act or process of passing

the passing lane

4

: given on satisfactory completion of an examination or course of study

a passing grade