hall pass
Americannoun
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hall passes
plural
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a slip of paper or other object authorizing a student to be out of the classroom during a class period.
I hand out only four hall passes per term—two bathroom passes and two locker passes.
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permission from one’s spouse or partner to go out independently for any desired activity, sometimes even including sexual encounters with other partners.
His wife and little person were going out, so he had a hall pass to come with us for a bite to eat.
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freedom or license to do something not normally allowed.
Temperatures are starting to drop, but that doesn't mean we have a hall pass to halt our outdoor workouts.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hall pass
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Klotz contends that she was ordered to perform menial tasks and forced to check in whenever she left the office, much like a high-schooler requesting a hall pass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2024
And I mentioned this in the book, and I say, if I would've known anything, I would've abused it just how I abused the hall pass.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2023
It was kind of like they gave me like a hall pass to like be an alien.
From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2022
And during one visit to the Clinton White House, the president urged Young to stay, but Young said he would need a hall pass.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 28, 2022
He handed me a hall pass and moved on to the next kid.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
