pass
[pʰɑːs]verb, noun
pass is spelled P-A-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pass means “To move or be moved from one place to another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pass?
| Letters | 4: P-A-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 112 times per million words; the 951st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is pass?
Pass appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pass?
- /pɑːs/
- UK [pʰɑːs]
- Australia [pʰäːs]
Pass has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pass.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pass
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: passe.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of pass
- passes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- passing participle, present
- passed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pass mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To move or be moved from one place to another.
They passed from room to room.
- 2
To go past, by, over, or through; to proceed from one side to the other of; to move past.
You will pass a house on your right.
- 3
To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person, place, or condition to another.
The waiter passed biscuits and cheese.
- 4
To eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes.
He was passing blood in both his urine and his stool.
- 5
To take a turn with (a line, gasket, etc.), as around a sail in furling, and make secure.
- 6
To kick (the ball) with precision rather than at full force.
20 June 2010, The Guardian, Rob Smyth Iaquinta passes it coolly into the right-hand corner as Paston dives the other way.
- 7
To move (the ball or puck) to a teammate.
- 8
To make a lunge or swipe.
noun
- 1
An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier such as a mountain range; a passageway; a defile; a ford.
mountain pass
- 2
A channel connecting a river or body of water to the sea, for example at the mouth (delta) of a river.
the passes of the Mississippi
- 3
A single movement, especially of a hand, at, over, or along anything.
[The bear] made a pass at the dog, but he swung out and above him […]
- 4
A single passage of a tool over something, or of something over a tool.
- 5
An attempt.
My first pass at a career of writing proved unsuccessful.
- 6
A sexual advance (often in the phrase make a pass).
The man kicked his friend out of the house after he made a pass at his wife.
- 7
Success in an examination or similar test.
I gained three passes at A-level, in mathematics, French, and English literature.
- 8
A thrust or push; an attempt to stab or strike an adversary.
- 9
slangA password (especially one for a restricted-access website).
Anyone want to trade passes?
noun
- 1
Initialism of positive alternative to school suspension.
- 2
Initialism of penile artery shunt syndrome.
- 3
Initialism of personal alert safety system.
- 4
Used to remember how to use a fire extinguisher: pull the pin, aim at the base (of the fire), squeeze the handle/trigger, sweep from side to side.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passer , dépasser , passe, passage, défilé , état |
| German | reichen, weitergeben , vorübergehen, vorbeigehen, passieren , hinüberkommen |
| Portuguese | passar , passagem , falecer , passe |
| Spanish | pasar , pasar de largo , paso , pase |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pass come from?
From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom. Displaced native Old English genġan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).