pass up

verb

passed up; passing up; passes up

transitive verb

: to let go by without accepting or taking advantage of
pass up a chance for promotion
also : decline, reject

Examples of pass up in a Sentence

I must pass up the offer to be chairman of this event.
Recent Examples on the Web But Payne passes up another opportunity to flesh out Mary’s character. Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 From tech gadgets to home essentials, these offers are too good to pass up. Micaela Arnett, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2024 The numerical anomaly was simply too good to pass up: 2/4/24, Mays’ former number. Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2024 Billy Joel and Sting aren’t passing up the opportunity to rock out together on their joint headlining tour! Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024 The Norwegian striker had just passed up a host of opportunities as Manchester City succumbed to a 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea. Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 North Carolina came calling; and head coach Hubert Davis' offer was too good to pass up. The Courier-Journal, 18 Jan. 2024 The Supreme Court has passed up this case, meaning the lower courts' decision still stands. Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Jan. 2024 Joe Biden passed up a softball Super Bowl interview. Howard Kurtz, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pass up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pass up was in 1896

Dictionary Entries Near pass up

Cite this Entry

“Pass up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pass%20up. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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