pass off
verb
passed off; passing off; passes off
1
: to make public or offer for sale with intent to deceive
2
: to give a false identity or character to
Examples of pass off in a Sentence
the con man tried to pass off a piece of blue glass as a sapphire
Recent Examples on the Web
Leadership and teams were finger-pointing and passing off blame.
—
Anne Sugar, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Think of Disney trying to pass off the 1,000th iteration of Marvel or Star Wars (just kidding) as something new.
—Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2024
While those rallies and last Sunday’s passed off peacefully, at a campaign rally in Thuringia on Thursday, a man sprayed pink at BSW’s leader Sahra Wagenknecht.
—Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 31 Aug. 2024
Details regarding the closing ceremony remain under lock-and-key, but one detail that is known is that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will be passing off the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pass off 
Anne Sugar, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Think of Disney trying to pass off the 1,000th iteration of Marvel or Star Wars (just kidding) as something new.
—Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2024
While those rallies and last Sunday’s passed off peacefully, at a campaign rally in Thuringia on Thursday, a man sprayed pink at BSW’s leader Sahra Wagenknecht.
—Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 31 Aug. 2024
Details regarding the closing ceremony remain under lock-and-key, but one detail that is known is that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will be passing off the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pass off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pass off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pass off
Cite this Entry
“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pass%20off. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
pass off
transitive verb1
: to make public or offer for sale (goods or services) with intent to deceive : palm off
passing his product off as that of the plaintiff's—W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
see also unfair competition
W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton2
: to give a false identity or character to
they created the documents on the day of the trial and passed them off as being made earlier
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share