pass-fail

adjective

ˈpas-ˈfāl 

: being a system of grading whereby the grades "pass" and "fail" replace the traditional letter grades

pass-fail noun

Examples of pass-fail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Goldhaber suggests that rather than a pass-fail approach, teacher candidates should be able to submit their scores as an additional piece of information for programs to consider — similar to how ACT and SAT scores are used by college admissions officers. —Emily Tate Sullivan, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024

Environmental Science This class is famously easy, as it’s graded pass-fail and the only requirement for passing is agreeing that everything is totally fine with the environment and asserting that anyone who believes differently is being paid by the deep state. —Skyler Higley, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2023

Note these standards can be iterative and supportive of innovation, rather than the approval process used for drugs which is more of a pass-fail process. —Thomas R. Insel, STAT, 12 Apr. 2023

We are no longer constrained by gender, perfection, and homogeny: beauty is not a box to be checked, a pass-fail test based on antiquated norms. —Photovogue, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above