< French: literally, allow to pass
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It pointed to laws passed by the state Legislature last year that allow election officials to begin processing mail ballots earlier and require them to finish counting ballots sooner.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
Neither man would have a party majority in Congress, meaning they would need to make concessions to have laws passed, said Bolivian sociologist Maria Teresa Zegada.
From Barron's • Oct. 19, 2025
To Barrett, “Solomon’s wisdom came from within,” rather than from “sources like laws passed by a legislature or precedents set by other judges.”
From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025
Our American system of government is written into the Constitution, and it is the underlying and supreme body of law that is superior to any laws passed by Congress or by executive actions.
From Salon • Feb. 14, 2025
Perhaps most revealing of all the hysteria propelling the Red Scare were laws passed by local and state governments throughout the nation that restricted parades and what they termed “radical activity.”
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
