pass off

British  

verb

1. to be or cause to be accepted or circulated in a false character or identity

   he passed the fake diamonds off as real

2. (intr) to come to a gradual end; disappear

   eventually the pain passed off

3. to emit (a substance) as a gas or vapour, or (of a substance) to be emitted in this way

4. (intr) to take place

   the meeting passed off without disturbance

5. (tr) to set aside or disregard

   I managed to pass off his insult

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pass off Idioms  

1. 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 .

2. Be completed or carried out, take place, as in The meeting passed off without incident . [Late 1700s]

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Example Sentences

Lehkonen collected the loose puck and took it the length of the ice before deflecting a centering pass off Kempe’s skate and by Forsberg for a short-handed goal, his second score of the series.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 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

In Monday’s interview, he tried to pass off this turnabout as obvious, as if he had believed it all along.

From Slate • Nov. 12, 2024

During her trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the prosecution argued she was planning to kidnap a baby to pass off as her own after lying to her second husband about being pregnant with twin boys.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2024

It starts quietly enough, a whisper I can pass off as the wind, a scrape that sounds like the echo of my footsteps on the cracked ground.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir