passport

[pas-pawrt, -pohrt, pahs-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR passport ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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 his or her native country.

anything that ensures admission or acceptance: A good education can be your passport to success.

any authorization to pass or go somewhere.

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.

a certificate intended to secure admission.

Origin of passport

1490–1500; earlier passeport < Middle French, equivalent to passe- (stem of passer to pass) + port port¹

Related formspass·port·less, adjective

Can be confusedpassport visa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for passport

license, key, permit, ticket, warrant, authorization, visa, credentials, pass, safe-conduct

Examples from the Web for passport

Contemporary Examples of passport

Addison was allowed out of jail, finally, but her passport was held pending an investigation—even though nobody questioned her.
Let’s Free Stacey Addison, The Oregon Woman Jailed at the Ends of the Earth
Christopher Dickey
October 30, 2014
Their expectation was that her petition to have her passport returned might be honored.
Let’s Free Stacey Addison, The Oregon Woman Jailed at the Ends of the Earth
Christopher Dickey
October 30, 2014
Freundel was charged with six counts of voyeurism, a misdemeanor, and has surrendered his passport while awaiting trial.
Women Describe How Top D.C. Rabbi Allegedly Spied on Them in the Nude
Steven I. Weiss
October 22, 2014
He had grown even more alarmed when he discovered that her passport was missing.
How ISIS’s Colorado Girls Were Caught
Michael Daly
October 22, 2014
“Documenting yourself in a place is like stamping a passport,” says Selfies at Serious Places' creator Jason Feifer.
Selfie Hall of Shame: Is Anywhere Safe From Sick Snaps?
Charlotte Lytton
October 11, 2014

Historical Examples of passport

In England, personal distinction is the only passport to the society of the great.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
And you're my passport, because only Med Ships have members of your tribe aboard!
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
"Then let your passport be for four, my friend," madame begged him.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
"A passport from without would do equally well," he announced.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
This was a passport to the honor and respect of other Christian nations.
A Short History of Spain
Mary Platt Parmele

British Dictionary definitions for passport

passport

noun

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

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

another word for sea letter (def. 1)

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

Word Origin for passport

C15: from French passeport, from passer to pass + port 1

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

Word Origin and History for passport

c.1500, from Middle French passeport "authorization to pass through a port" to enter or leave a country (15c.), from passe, imperative of Old French passer "to pass" (see pass (v.)) + port "port" (see port (n.1)).