passage

¹ American  

[pas-ij] / ˈpæs ɪdʒ /

noun

1. 

   a portion or section of a written work; a paragraph, verse, etc..

   a passage of Scripture.

2. a phrase or other division of a musical work.

3. Fine Arts. an area, section, or detail of a work, especially with respect to its qualities of execution.

   passages of sensitive brushwork.

4. an act or instance of passing from one place, condition, etc., to another; transit.

5. the permission, right, or freedom to pass.

   to refuse passage through a territory.

6. the route or course by which a person or thing passes or travels.

7. a hall or corridor; passageway.

8. an opening or entrance into, through, or out of something.

   the nasal passages.

9. a voyage by water from one point to another.

   a rough passage across the English Channel.

10. the privilege of conveyance as a passenger.

    to book passage on an ocean liner.

11. the price charged for accommodation on a ship; fare.

12. a lapse or passing, as of time.

13. a progress or course, as of events.

14. the enactment into law of a legislative measure.

15. an interchange of communications, confidences, etc., between persons.

16. an exchange of blows; altercation or dispute.

    a passage at arms.

17. the act of causing something to pass; transference; transmission.

18. an evacuation of the bowels.

19. an occurrence, incident, or event.

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verb (used without object)

passaged, passaging

1. to make a passage; cross; pass; voyage.

passage ² American  

[pas-ij, puh-sahzh] / ˈpæs ɪdʒ, pəˈsɑʒ /

noun

1. a slow, cadenced trot executed with great elevation of the feet and characterized by a moment of suspension before the feet strike the ground.

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verb (used without object)

passaged, passaging

1. (of a horse) to execute such a movement.

2. (of a rider) to cause a horse to execute such a movement.

verb (used with object)

passaged, passaging

1. to cause (a horse) to passage.

passage ¹ British  

/ ˈpæsɪdʒ /

noun

1. a channel, opening, etc, through or by which a person or thing may pass

2. music a section or division of a piece, movement, etc

3. a way, as in a hall or lobby

4. a section of a written work, speech, etc, esp one of moderate length

5. a journey, esp by ship

   the outward passage took a week

6. the act or process of passing from one place, condition, etc, to another

   passage of a gas through a liquid

7. the permission, right, or freedom to pass

   to be denied passage through a country

8. the enactment of a law or resolution by a legislative or deliberative body

9. an evacuation of the bowels

10. rare an exchange or interchange, as of blows, words, etc (esp in the phrase passage of arms )

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passage ² British  

/ ˈpæsɑːʒ, ˈpæsɪdʒ /

noun

1. a sideways walk in which diagonal pairs of feet are lifted alternately

2. a cadenced lofty trot, the moment of suspension being clearly defined

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verb

1. to move or cause to move at a passage

Etymology

Origin of passage¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, equivalent to pass(er) “to cross, go through” + -age noun suffix; see origin at pass, -age

Origin of passage²

First recorded in 1750–60; from French verb passager, variant of passéger, from Italian passeggiare “to walk, stroll”; see pace ¹

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Explanation

Passage describes the act of passing or traveling from one place to the next. People often use the word passage to specifically refer to a journey by ship, as in, "The passage to America was long and hard." A section of written work or music can also be called a passage. You can think of a passage of music as moving the listener from one part of the piece to the next. And, finally, you can call a path a passage or passageway, especially when it's narrow. A street is not a passage, but the little tunnel behind the secret door in your closet is certainly a passage.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

passage passaged passaging

We kindly request your confirmation for safe passage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

“In South Texas, a quinceañera isn’t just a pachanga. It’s a rite of passage that brings family and neighbors together,” said Pulido in a TikTok clip uploaded on March 10.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

This relationship provides compelling evidence that the smaller star may be influencing the shape of Betelgeuse's outer layers through gravity and its physical passage through the gas.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

In the decade following the Civil War and the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments, Black people began to participate fully in civil society.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026

Nathan gasped for air as he woke up in the long passage.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

The scientists passaged a bat coronavirus from Laos that is a distant cousin of SARS-CoV-2 through human cells and in mice to see whether it acquired a specific mutation that would help it infect people.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 18, 2022

The infected cells were passaged the next day and selected in puromycin for 3 days.

From Nature ● Oct. 10, 2017

Comparison of airborne transmission of experimental passaged A/H5N1 and 2009 pandemic A/H1N1 viruses in individual ferrets.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2012

Because no airborne transmission was observed in experiment 2, A/H5N1wildtype and A/H5N1HA Q222L,G224S PB2 E627K were serially passaged in ferrets to allow adaptation for efficient replication in mammals.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2012

The Captain passaged his chestnut alongside my bay, chuckled and told me all about it.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, May 23, 1917 by Various

By introducing mutations and passaging, Kawaoka and Fouchier managed to tweak the virus so it could spread between laboratory ferrets, a stand-in for humans.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 18, 2022

And passaging in cell cultures often deletes the furin cleavage site or makes viruses weaker.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 1, 2021

We changed the source of inoculum during the course of the experiment, because passaging nasal washes may facilitate the selection of viruses that were secreted from the URT.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2012

In those studies, H5N1 viruses were made transmissible via respiratory droplets among ferrets by engineering the virus; well-described and published protocols including reverse genetics, reassortment, and passaging of viruses in mammals were used.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2012

Gay young men, on passaging horses, half drew their swords and growled unintelligible remarks, desisting only at the sight of Claire Agnew's pale face underneath her hood.

From The White Plumes of Navarre A Romance of the Wars of Religion by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

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Related Words

• clause
• paragraph
• portion
• quotation
• reading
• section
• sentence
• text
• transition
• verse

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