Sentence:  The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he <WSD>passed</WSD>. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the parent ship, had recently been painted a vivid green. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To go past, by, over, or through; to proceed from one side to the other of; to move past.