passing

American  

[pas-ing] / ˈpæs ɪŋ /

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.

3. done, given, etc., in passing; cursory.

   a passing mention.

4. surpassing, preeminent, or extreme.

5. indicating satisfactory performance in a course, on a paper, in a test, etc..

   a passing grade on a test.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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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

1. in passing, by the way; incidentally.

   The speaker mentioned his latest book in passing.

passing British  

/ ˈpɑːsɪŋ /

adjective

1. transitory or momentary

   a passing fancy

2. cursory or casual in action or manner

   a passing reference

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adverb

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

3. by the way; incidentally

   he mentioned your visit in passing

Other Word Forms

• passingly adverb
• passingness noun
• unpassing adjective

Etymology

Origin of passing

First recorded in 1275–1325; pass + -ing ¹ for the noun senses; pass + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

It was a passing shower and they were back out 40 minutes later with lunch pushed back by half an hour.

From Barron's

It all prompts the question: is this storm a passing one, or are prices set to remain stubbornly high - and should we brace for them staying that way permanently?

From BBC

For William, one of the most striking moments was passing on the message that his team had found evidence of an explosion.

From BBC

Li Jiaxing, a 22-year-old college student who worked as a delivery driver this summer, said he lost 0.16 points one day for passing at a high speed through streets that weren’t designated for electric bikes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now he’s passing along those lessons to younger players in a transfer of generational knowledge across the Chargers’ locker room.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cursory
• fleeting
• superficial