Dictionary definition · passing
noun
- (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate"the coach sent in a passing play on third and long"
- euphemistic expressions for death"thousands mourned his passing"
- the motion of one object relative to another"stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets"
- the end of something"the passing of winter"
- a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another"the passage of air from the lungs"
- going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it"she drove but well but her reckless passing of every car on the road frightened me"
- success in satisfying a test or requirement"his future depended on his passing that test"
adjective
- lasting a very short time"the ephemeral joys of childhood"
- of advancing the ball by throwing it"a team with a good passing attack"
- allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily"a passing grade"
- hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough"a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws"
adverb
- to an extraordinary degree"she was a surpassingly beautiful woman"
Similar words
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).