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passport

American  
[pas-pawrt, -pohrt, pahs-] / ˈpæs pɔrt, -poʊrt, ˈpɑs- /

noun

  1. 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.

  2. anything that ensures admission or acceptance.

    A good education can be your passport to success.

  3. any authorization to pass or go somewhere.

  4. 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.

  5. a certificate intended to secure admission.

passport British  
/ ˈpɑːspɔːt /

noun

  1. 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

  2. a licence granted by a state to a foreigner, allowing the passage of his person or goods through the country

  3. another word for sea letter

  4. a quality, asset, etc, that gains a person admission or acceptance

"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

Other Word Forms

  • passportless adjective

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

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 CPJ in February cited a source as saying that in addition, NHK's longtime videographer Mehdi Mohammedi's passport was confiscated along with his personal devices.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

While he said he liked "the Manx passport being a bit different", he thought key wording should be clearer for countries outside of the British Isles to understand.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

The crackdown affects nearly half a million Iranians and includes a public ban on Iranian passport holders entering or transiting the country.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

However, in order to get a passport, people still need to prove their citizenship, which for most Americans, means providing their birth certificate.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026

He’d tell them that he was the one who’d gotten Dallas’s passport.

From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech

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.