pass off

verb

passed off; passing off; passes off

transitive verb

1

: to make public or offer for sale with intent to deceive

2

: to give a false identity or character to

Synonyms of pass off

• wish
• inflict
• impose
• palm off
• fob off
• palm

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

Elliot Anderson swept up the second ball in midfield and laid a pass off to Morgan Rogers. — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 30 June 2026

Su-hun passed off the manuscript of Min-hui’s late sister as his latest novel. — Kayti Burt, Time, 26 June 2026

After Simmons-Hancock was dead, Parker performed a crude C-section on her body to remove the unborn child to pass off as her own. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026

The Spurs fought back from a 14-point deficit to take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter, but with the game tied at 104, Victor Wembanyama threw a pass off an unaware teammate's back and Jalen Brunson stole the ball. — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pass off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

pass off

verb

: to give a false identity to : describe untruthfully

Legal Definition

pass off

transitive verb

1

: 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

2

: 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