pass off

British  

verb

1. to be or cause to be accepted or circulated in a false character or identity

   he passed the fake diamonds off as real

2. (intr) to come to a gradual end; disappear

   eventually the pain passed off

3. to emit (a substance) as a gas or vapour, or (of a substance) to be emitted in this way

4. (intr) to take place

   the meeting passed off without disturbance

5. (tr) to set aside or disregard

   I managed to pass off his insult

---

pass off Idioms  

1. Misrepresent something or someone, as in They tried to pass off that piece of glass as a gemstone , or Bill passed her off as his sister . [Late 1700s] Also see palm off .

2. Be completed or carried out, take place, as in The meeting passed off without incident . [Late 1700s]

---

Example Sentences

“But, especially in places like math and coding, you can pass off the output of LLMs to, or direct the LLMs with, other technologies that had lost favor but actually are very useful.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Fraudsters could theoretically attempt to pass off a different insect species as one of those four.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

In Monday’s interview, he tried to pass off this turnabout as obvious, as if he had believed it all along.

From Slate • Nov. 12, 2024

Somehow, Moss still managed to sling a pass off his back foot before all three came crashing down on him.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2024

In Cleopatra’s absence, Arsinoe had tried to pass off an imposter as Ptolemy XIII, alive and well and claiming his place on the throne.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby