pass 1 verb 1 move or cause to move in a specified direction: [ no object, with adverbial of direction ] : he passed through towns and villages a plane was passing lazily overhead [ with object and adverbial of direction ] : he passed a weary hand across his forehead pass an electric current through it [ no object, with adverbial of direction ] change from one state or condition to another: homes which have passed from public to private ownership [ no object ] euphemistic , chiefly North American die: I was with him the night he passed 2 [ with object ] go past or across; leave behind or on one side in proceeding: on the way to the station she passed a cinema the two vehicles had no room to pass each other [ no object ] : we will not let you pass go beyond the limits of; surpass or exceed: the Portuguese trade passed its peak in the 1760s this item has passed its sell-by date [ with object ] spend or use up (a period of time): this was how they passed the time come to an end: the danger had passed appen; be done or said: not another word passed between them [ with complement ] : this fact has passed almost unnoticed 4 [ with object and usually with adverbial of direction ] transfer (something) to someone, especially by handing or bequeathing it to the next person in a series: your