passport

[ pas-pawrt, -pohrt, pahs- ]

/ ˈpæs pɔrt, -poʊrt, ˈpɑs- /

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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 their 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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of passport

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

OTHER WORDS FROM passport

pass·port·less, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH passport

passport , visa

Words nearby passport

pass one's lips, pass out, Passover, pass pattern, pass point, passport, pass rush, pass the buck, pass the hat, pass the time, pass the torch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use passport in a sentence

When acting Danish finance minister Morten Bødskov announced last week that Denmark would soon launch a digital “corona passport,” the news spread rapidly around the world.
Why Denmark’s “corona passport” is more of a promise than a plan|Bobbie Johnson|February 10, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Like me, she had packed passports but no other documentation.
If you’re a solo parent traveling internationally with your kids, be ready for this question|Gina Rich|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
Beyond that, immunity passports are not always productive, he says.
We May Never Eliminate COVID-19. But We Can Learn to Live With It|Jamie Ducharme|February 4, 2021|Time
Anyone wanting to build on Beach Island, for example, will need to provide a “materials passport” for their buildings, so whenever they are taken down, the city can reuse the parts.
Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?|Ciara Nugent|January 22, 2021|Time

After nearly two years on the move, Ajapwoh Sergeo found himself in October in an unfamiliar city possessing little more than his passport from Cameroon.
How your unneeded travel rewards can make a difference|Hugh Biggar|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
Her travel clique has been known to arrive at an airport, bags packed, passport-in-hand, within hours of spotting a deal.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Available at La Boîte SHOLDIT Clutch Wrap Purse, $70 We can all agree the dorky passport holders and money bags have got to go.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Anthony Bourdain in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The writer lost a pocket-book containing a passport and a couple of modest ten-pound notes.
Little Travels and Roadside Sketches|William Makepeace Thackeray
He felt that in getting old Warrender and his daughter to The Park, he was in reality receiving his passport into county society.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3)|Charles James Wills
You go to Washington and get your passport, and if you can't hasten matters don't let an outsider know what you are after.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
There was time enough to seek his passport, and Isabel could well imagine that his impatience was not uncontrollable.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
I took my oath before the passport clerk in the innermost recess of the State Department.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for passport

passport

/ (ˈpɑːspɔːt) /

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

passport

Origin of passport

OTHER WORDS FROM passport

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH passport

Words nearby passport

Words related to passport

How to use passport in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for passport

Word Origin for passport