pass-fail

American

[pas-feyl, pahs-] / ˈpæsˈfeɪl, ˈpɑs- /

noun

Education.

a system of grading in some educational institutions in which a student simply passes or fails instead of receiving a letter or numerical grade.

Etymology

Origin of pass-fail

First recorded in 1955–60

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.

See Examples For:

pass-fail

When you do, you might be given the option of taking a pass-fail online knowledge test, or to instead use the DMV’s eLearning program, which is what Group did.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2023

It’s a pass-fail test, and it doesn’t impact the vehicle’s safety rating.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2023

There are no letter grades; students get detailed “narrative evaluations” as part of a pass-fail system.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2023

"While the stress test was exploratory, with no pass-fail assessments, the results are evidence of the overall resilience of the UK CCPs," BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said in a statement.

From Reuters ● Oct. 13, 2022

Or concocting a pass-fail test—he was famous for that type—where he threaded together questions that could throw a guy for a loss, with what seemed like a million possible answers.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023