pass away

Idioms  

1. Also,. Die, as in He passed away last week, or After Grandma passes on we'll sell the land, or I hear he's about to pass over. All these terms are euphemisms for dying, although the verb pass alone as well as pass away have been used in the sense of “pass out of existence, die” since the 1300s. The two variants—adding on [c. 1800] and over [c. 1900]—allude to moving to some other-worldly realm.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pass away

It seems to me that because the longer people wait, the fewer years they will actually collect Social Security, the hope was that some would pass away before receiving much at all.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026

When his children pass away, he continues, maybe they’ll be buried on the moon, or on Mars.

From Slate ● May 8, 2026

James turned the ball over for the fourth time in the fourth quarter when Alperen Sengun tipped a bounce pass away from Kennard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026

I say people died when they, uh, pass away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

Millions of worlds are born, evolve, and pass away into nebulous, unmeasured skies; and there is still eternity.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Related Words

• die
• expire
• perish
• succumb