✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But the lure of going to LSU and taking over a program that's won three national titles - with three different head coaches - over the last 20 years and be able to physically go toe-to-toe with the Georgia's and Alabama's of the SEC may be too tempting to pass up. Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025 Simply put, these Yeti finds are too good to pass up. Mia Huelsbeck, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025 On sale for 60 percent off, this wardrobe staple is a deal too good to pass up on Cyber Monday. Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025 Quince and Brooklinen are consistent bath and bedding standouts for us, too, and two super plush, long-lasting Turkish towels for $75 is nothing to pass up. Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 28 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pass up

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pass up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pass%20up. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!