passing
/ˈpɑːsɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
passing is spelled P-A-S-S-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, passing means “That passes away; ephemeral” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in passing?
| Letters | 7: P-A-S-S-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 43 times per million words; the 2,339th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is passing?
Passing appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th 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 passing?
- UK /ˈpɑːsɪŋ/
Passing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-passing.ogg, En-us-passing.ogg, En-au-passing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of passing
- more passing comparative
- most passing superlative
- passings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does passing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That passes away; ephemeral.
- 2
archaicPre-eminent, excellent, extreme.
- 3
Vague, cursory.
to make a passing comment
- 4
Going past.
passing cars
- 5
That passes in any sense.
a passing transsexual
noun
- 1
Death, dying; the end of something.
- 2
The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another.
- 3
The act of approving a bill etc.
- 4
The act of passing a ball etc. to another player.
- 5
A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings.
- 6
The ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category different from their own.
When there is a discrepancy between an individual's actual social identity and his virtual one, it is possible for this fact to be known to us before we normals contact him, or to be quite evident when he presents himself before us. He is a
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of pass
adverb
- 1
archaicSurpassingly, greatly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Passing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passager , éminent , rapide , extrêmement, éminemment , mort |
| German | vorübergehend, verrinnend , hervorragend, außerordentlich , flüchtig , vorbeifahrend |
| Portuguese | passageiro, temporário, efêmero , preeminente, excelente, ótimo |
| Spanish | pasajero , muerte , pasante , para aprobar / pasar, de aprobación, aprobante |
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 passing come from?
From pass + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).