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pass

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "pass", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "pass" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "pass" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

pass is aEnglishverb. It means: To change place. Pronounced /pɑːs/. It ranks #952 in English word frequency. Often confused with PS and pay.

Key facts for pass
PropertyValue
Headwordpass
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɑːs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#952
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of pass in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for pass is 4 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɑːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #952 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 40 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 3 documented wrong-spelling variants for pass, with forms such as "apss", "ppass", and "psas". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PS", "pay", "pat", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). Cog… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is pass, spelled P-A-S-S, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To change place.
  2. 2
    To change place.
  3. 3
    To change place.
  4. 4
    To change place.
  5. 5
    To change place.
  6. 6
    To change place.
  7. 7
    To change place.
  8. 8
    To change place.
  9. 9
    To change place.
  10. 10
    To change place.
  11. 11
    To change place.
  12. 12
    To change place.
  13. 13
    To change place.
  14. 14
    To change in state or status
  15. 15
    To change in state or status
  16. 16
    To change in state or status
  17. 17
    To change in state or status
  18. 18
    To change in state or status
  19. 19
    To change in state or status
  20. 20
    To change in state or status
  21. 21
    To change in state or status
  22. 22
    To change in state or status
  23. 23
    To change in state or status
  24. 24
    To move through time.
  25. 25
    To move through time.
  26. 26
    To move through time.
  27. 27
    To move through time.
  28. 28
    To move through time.
  29. 29
    To move through time.
  30. 30
    To move through time.
  31. 31
    To be accepted.
  32. 32
    To be accepted.
  33. 33
    To refrain from doing something.
  34. 34
    To refrain from doing something.
  35. 35
    To refrain from doing something.
  36. 36
    To refrain from doing something.
  37. 37
    To refrain from doing something.
  38. 38
    To do or be better.
  39. 39
    To do or be better.
  40. 40
    To take heed, to have an interest, to care.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apss,ppass,psas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for pass

Misspelling Variants of "pass"

apss4ppass5psas4
Misspelling Variants of "pass"

Frequency rank: #952 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pass"?
"pass" is spelled P-A-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɑːs/.
What does "pass" mean?
As a verb, "pass" means: To change place.
What words are commonly confused with "pass"?
"pass" is commonly confused with "PS", "pay", "pat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pass"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pass" is /pɑːs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pass"?
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 ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.