: the act of one that passes or causes to pass
especially
: death sense 1a
1
: going by or past
a passing pedestrian
2
: having a brief duration
a passing whim
3
obsolete
: surpassing
4
: superficial
a passing acquaintance
a passing resemblance
5
a
: of, relating to, or used in or for the act or process of passing
passing lanes
b
: given on satisfactory completion of an examination or course of study
a passing grade
: to a surpassing degree : exceedingly
passing strange
Synonyms
Noun
- curtains
- death
- decease
- demise
- dissolution
- doom
- end
- exit
- expiration
- expiry
- fate
- grave
- great divide
- passage
- quietus
- sleep
Adjective
- brief
- deciduous
- ephemeral
- evanescent
- flash
- fleeting
- fugacious
- fugitive
- impermanent
- momentary
- short-lived
- temporary
- transient
- transitory
Adverb
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- much
- particularly
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Examples of passing in a Sentence
Noun
After her husband's passing, she moved to a smaller house.
We all mourned his passing.
Adjective
Someone called out from a passing car.
She sells flowers to passing motorists.
Let's hope that these shoes are just a passing fad.
a passing phase in childhood
Adverb
a passing strange turn of events
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2024
Karen’s passing is a reminder that life is so short and precious and tomorrow is never promised.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Killer Mike was one of the many artists to take to social media to express their sadness over Wade’s passing.
—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2024
Some public figures’ legacy shrinks after their passing.
—John Blake, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
In Kyiv this week, two wooden caskets bearing soldiers’ bodies were brought to Independence Square — the heart of Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy protests — in a solemn parade, with mourners kneeling at their passing.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Guinness announced the passing of Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, a Venezuelan man who was the oldest living man, in an X post, formerly known as Twitter.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
We are heartbroken by the sudden passing of former Dolphins CB Vontae Davis and extend our deepest condolences to his family & loved ones during this difficult time.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
In a new interview with the Daily Mail, the former NFL player, 40, said that he’s been left in shock after the passing of his 35-year-old brother and fellow football pro Vontae Davis on Monday.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
Duclair’s goal, his fourth with his new team since he was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Sharks on March 7, came at the end of a pretty passing sequence.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Remember, even though Love had more passing yards this year than Rodgers did in 2021, Love also had one extra game (granted, this was because Rodgers was sidelined by COVID-19 protocols and Love filled in for one week).
—Journal Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2024
In the passing weeks—November, early December—the gin is forgotten.
—Lottie Hazell, Vogue, 24 Dec. 2023
The Guest continues to increase its cult status with each passing year, and Stevens and Wingard, as well as writer Simon Barrett, have fielded countless requests for a sequel ever since.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
His 1998 and 1997 seasons are first and second place, respectively, for most passing yards by a Kentucky player in a season.
—The Courier-Journal, 8 Jan. 2024
The full-court press that usually fuels the Buckeyes didn't give the Gophers much trouble, but those quick hands in the passing and dribbling lanes sure did.
—Dave Campbell, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024
Both teams bring high-powered passing games, but San Francisco, led by All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, was tied for first in rushing touchdowns (27) in the league.
—Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2024
Noun
His passing was artful, sly, ahead of his teammates.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2024
Karen’s passing is a reminder that life is so short and precious and tomorrow is never promised.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Killer Mike was one of the many artists to take to social media to express their sadness over Wade’s passing.
—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2024
Some public figures’ legacy shrinks after their passing.
—John Blake, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
In Kyiv this week, two wooden caskets bearing soldiers’ bodies were brought to Independence Square — the heart of Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy protests — in a solemn parade, with mourners kneeling at their passing.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Guinness announced the passing of Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, a Venezuelan man who was the oldest living man, in an X post, formerly known as Twitter.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
We are heartbroken by the sudden passing of former Dolphins CB Vontae Davis and extend our deepest condolences to his family & loved ones during this difficult time.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
In a new interview with the Daily Mail, the former NFL player, 40, said that he’s been left in shock after the passing of his 35-year-old brother and fellow football pro Vontae Davis on Monday.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Adjective
The former three-star recruit finished with the fifth-most passing yards (15,656) in FBS history and fourth-most passing TDs (134).
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2024
Duclair’s goal, his fourth with his new team since he was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Sharks on March 7, came at the end of a pretty passing sequence.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Remember, even though Love had more passing yards this year than Rodgers did in 2021, Love also had one extra game (granted, this was because Rodgers was sidelined by COVID-19 protocols and Love filled in for one week).
—Journal Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2024
In the passing weeks—November, early December—the gin is forgotten.
—Lottie Hazell, Vogue, 24 Dec. 2023
The Guest continues to increase its cult status with each passing year, and Stevens and Wingard, as well as writer Simon Barrett, have fielded countless requests for a sequel ever since.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
His 1998 and 1997 seasons are first and second place, respectively, for most passing yards by a Kentucky player in a season.
—The Courier-Journal, 8 Jan. 2024
The full-court press that usually fuels the Buckeyes didn't give the Gophers much trouble, but those quick hands in the passing and dribbling lanes sure did.
—Dave Campbell, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024
Both teams bring high-powered passing games, but San Francisco, led by All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, was tied for first in rushing touchdowns (27) in the league.
—Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'passing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near passing
Cite this Entry
“Passing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passing. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
passing
1 of 2 noun
pass·ing
ˈpas-iŋ 
1
: the act of one that passes or causes to pass
2
passing
2 of 2 adjective1
: going by or past
the passing crowd
2
: lasting only for a short time
3
: used for the act or process of passing
the passing lane
4
: given on satisfactory completion of an examination or course of study
a passing grade
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