pass off
Britishverb
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to be or cause to be accepted or circulated in a false character or identity
he passed the fake diamonds off as real
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(intr) to come to a gradual end; disappear
eventually the pain passed off
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to emit (a substance) as a gas or vapour, or (of a substance) to be emitted in this way
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(intr) to take place
the meeting passed off without disturbance
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(tr) to set aside or disregard
I managed to pass off his insult
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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 .
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Be completed or carried out, take place, as in The meeting passed off without incident . [Late 1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So the test of this state visit will not be how well the ceremonies, speeches and walk-abouts pass off.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Just down the street from the shipyard, Groton resident Autumn Gardiner rents an apartment that she’d love to pass off to a new Electric Boat employee after she buys a home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
The majority of students — 80% — say they would not use AI to submit classwork to pass off as their own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
“We didn’t pass off the full tariff, and we mitigated wherever we could.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
Townsfolk regularly tried to pass off halfdead or gingered up nags to us, knowing that by the time we discovered our mistakes we’d be miles and days away.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
