passing

[ pas-ing ]
See synonyms for passing on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. going by or past; elapsing: He was feeling better with each passing day.

  2. brief, fleeting, or fortuitous; transitory: to take a passing fancy to something.

  1. done, given, etc., in passing; cursory: a passing mention.

  2. surpassing, preeminent, or extreme.

  3. indicating satisfactory performance in a course, on a paper, in a test, etc.: a passing grade on a test.

  4. living or being known as a member of a racial, religious, or ethnic group other than one's own, especially living and being known as a white person although of Black ancestry: Employees with a passing racial identity expressed frequent discomfort in the workplace.

  5. Sometimes Offensive. being known or perceived as a gender other than the one assigned at birth: Passing women who dress and live as men have existed throughout history.The environment might be safer for a passing trans man than for someone who is obviously transgender.

adverb
  1. surpassingly; exceedingly; very.

noun
  1. the act of a person or thing that passes or causes something to pass.

  2. a means or place of passage.

Idioms about passing

  1. in passing, by the way; incidentally: The speaker mentioned his latest book in passing.

Origin of passing

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; pass + -ing1 for the noun senses; pass + -ing2 for the adjective senses

Other words from passing

  • pass·ing·ly, adverb
  • pass·ing·ness, noun
  • un·pass·ing, adjective

Words Nearby passing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use passing in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for passing

passing

/ (ˈpɑːsɪŋ) /


adjective
  1. transitory or momentary: a passing fancy

  2. cursory or casual in action or manner: a passing reference

adverb, adjective
  1. archaic to an extreme degree: the events were passing strange

noun
  1. a place where or means by which one may pass, cross, ford, etc

  2. a euphemism for death

  1. in passing by the way; incidentally: he mentioned your visit in passing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012