no longer fashionable, in wide use, etc.; out-of-date; outmoded.
There were many photographs of passé fashions. I thought hand-cranked pencil sharpeners were passé.
past.
time passé.
past the prime of one's life.
out-of-date
passé ideas
past the prime; faded
a passé society beauty
Literally, “passing, pass”
1765–75; < French, past participle of passer to pass
Passé describes something that's out of style or "so yesterday!" What your parents think is cool is usually very passé, but sometimes their old stuff is stylish again, like the Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt you borrow from your mom. From the French passer, "to pass," passé came into English use in the 18th century, and its accented "é" is still used in the 21st century. Pronounced "pass-AY," the adjective passé is a classier way to call something outdated, unfashionable, and so out of touch with trends. Your floppy pop-star haircut may be passé if a crew-cut band becomes all the rage, but even saying "all the rage" is itself probably passé. If it's current and in style, it's not passé.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like a musical Solomon, Lipman split the baby—avoiding the passé waltz while retaining its inherent groove with those persistent triplets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
“The innovation represents something new and is thus creative. However, it is also destructive, as the company whose technology becomes passé is outcompeted.”
From MarketWatch • Oct. 21, 2025
“He says, ‘People once used to put sugar on their salads, but I can’t believe how passé that is,’” Albala explains.
From Salon • Apr. 27, 2025
At Lollapalooza’s inception, festivals had become passé, with the US Festival, the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen and the Monterey Pop Festival little more than hazy memories.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2025
It's quite passé to ask me to tell you all about aviation.
From The Trail of the Hawk A Comedy of the Seriousness of Life by Lewis, Sinclair
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.
