as in to wish
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
the con man tried to pass off a piece of blue glass as a sapphire
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pass off
In the first half, Benjamin passed off to open teammates whenever he was double-teamed, but the shots weren’t falling.
—
Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2025
As for Dexter, he’s forced into a minor plot detour to draw blood, inadvertently giving up two pints himself (one because Clark has had an HIV exposure and needs to pass off someone else’s blood as his own, and the other because Masuka corners Dexter into donating).
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Researchers found a significant number of the restaurants were passing off their shrimp as locally sourced, even though they were grown on foreign farms and imported to the U.S.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
In the third period, Pettersson hit Boeser with a sweet east-west pass off the rush.
—Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pass off
Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2025
As for Dexter, he’s forced into a minor plot detour to draw blood, inadvertently giving up two pints himself (one because Clark has had an HIV exposure and needs to pass off someone else’s blood as his own, and the other because Masuka corners Dexter into donating).
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Researchers found a significant number of the restaurants were passing off their shrimp as locally sourced, even though they were grown on foreign farms and imported to the U.S.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
In the third period, Pettersson hit Boeser with a sweet east-west pass off the rush.
—Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pass off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass off
Verb
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Stop wishing people well in your direct messages on LinkedIn.—
Chris Westfall,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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Vatican officials can be faithful to the highest standards of their religion, truly wishing to serve the church and the common good of humanity.—
Daniel Speed Thompson,
The Conversation,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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European states are already some of the highest spending in the world and that gives them little option for extra spending without inflicting severe pain.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
1 Mar. 2025
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Wall Street has been hoping the threats are merely leverage that Trump will use to negotiate with other countries before ultimately inflicting less pain on the economy than feared.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2025
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The Trump administration has imposed a tariff of 25 percent on products from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent tariff on China.—
Jessica Garrison,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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And there’s an art to delegating, without seemingly palming off work to your team.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2023
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Giannoli’s narrator lays out press performance in Balzacian details that sound absolutely contemporary: News, debate, and ideas had become goods to palm off on subscribers.—
Armond White,
National Review,
10 June 2022
Verb
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But despite previous transparency around the cost-cutting measures, employees inquiring about how the budget cuts have impacted their performance review will now be fobbed off.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
29 Aug. 2023
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Most chose instead to fob off the hard decisions to central bankers.—
William Pesek,
Forbes,
10 Sep. 2021
Verb
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Both teams threatened with Mikel Merino’s header palmed away by Matz Sels and David Raya denying Chris Wood at the other end.—
James McNicholas,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
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His stunning, one-handed outlet passes — often completed in a single fluid motion, without ever bringing the ball below his shoulders after palming the rebound — resemble water polo passes.—
Bennett Durando,
The Denver Post,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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