passport
Americannoun
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an official document issued by the government of a country to one of its citizens and, varying from country to country, authorizing travel to foreign countries and authenticating the bearer's identity, citizenship, right to protection while abroad, and right to reenter their native country.
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anything that ensures admission or acceptance.
A good education can be your passport to success.
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any authorization to pass or go somewhere.
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a document issued to a ship, especially to a neutral merchant ship in time of war, granting or requesting permission to proceed without molestation in certain waters.
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a certificate intended to secure admission.
noun
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an official document issued by a government, identifying an individual, granting him permission to travel abroad, and requesting the protection of other governments for him
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a licence granted by a state to a foreigner, allowing the passage of his person or goods through the country
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another word for sea letter
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a quality, asset, etc, that gains a person admission or acceptance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of passport
First recorded in 1490–1500; earlier passeport from Middle French, equivalent to passe- (stem of passer to pass ) + port port 1
Explanation
A passport is a government-issued document you need to travel between countries. Americans must have a passport to travel out of the U.S., even if they're just going to Canada for the weekend. A passport is a small book that includes the name, nationality, and photograph of the person it belongs to. Its many pages are stamped each time you enter a new country. When you apply for a passport, you have to prove your identity and nationality, and have your picture taken. Colloquially, passport also means something that helps you get where you want to go: "This amusement part ticket is your passport to fun!"
Vocabulary lists containing passport
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 1
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Travel
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 9–April 15, 2022
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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.
The system, which became fully operational in April, replaces passport stamps with a digital registration to make the EU's borders more secure, more efficient and stronger against irregular migration, according to the European Commission.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
However, he encouraged European countries to use the flexibility they had to go back to manual passport stamping if necessary.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
In addition to screening at airports, the CDC said it was implementing entry restrictions on non-US passport holders if they had traveled to Uganda, DRC or South Sudan within the past 21 days.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
He had a British passport but was aghast at any suggestion that he could leave as political trouble was impending.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Bobby insisted that his passport was perfectly legal and had two and a half years to go before it expired.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
