Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Moving by; going past.
  • adjective Of brief duration; transitory.
  • adjective Cursory or superficial; casual.
  • adjective Allowing one to pass a test, course of study, inspection, or examination; satisfactory.
  • adjective Archaic Extreme or great; surpassing.
  • adverb Very; surpassingly.
  • noun The act of one that passes or the fact of having passed.
  • noun A place where or a means by which one can pass.
  • noun Death.
  • idiom (in passing) While going by; incidentally.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Surpassingly; wonderfully: exceedingly; very.
  • That is or are now happening; current: as, passing events; the passing hour.
  • Cursory; such as is done, given, etc., while one passes: as, a passing glance.
  • Fleeting; fading away.
  • Exceeding; surpassing; transcendent; egregious; eminent; extraordinary.
  • noun The act of moving on or by; also, the act of departing; dying.
  • noun Passage; ratification; enactment.
  • noun A gold or silver thread or fine cord produced by twisting a flat and very small ribbon of the metal spirally around a silk thread. Passing is used in embroidery, in couched work, and the like, laid on the foundation and sewed to it with fine silk thread.
  • Exceeding; beyond; over.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Relating to the act of passing or going; going by, beyond, through, or away; departing.
  • adjective Exceeding; surpassing, eminent.
  • adjective (Mus.) a character including a passing tone.
  • adjective (Mus.) a tone introduced between two other tones, on an unaccented portion of a measure, for the sake of smoother melody, but forming no essential part of the harmony.
  • noun The act of one who, or that which, passes; the act of going by or away.
  • noun a tolling of a bell to announce that a soul is passing, or has passed, from its body (formerly done to invoke prayers for the dying); also, a tolling during the passing of a funeral procession to the grave, or during funeral ceremonies.
  • adverb Exceedingly; excessively; surpassingly

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of pass.
  • noun A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
  • noun success in satisfying a test or requirement
  • adjective of advancing the ball by throwing it
  • noun the end of something
  • noun the motion of one object relative to another
  • noun a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another
  • adjective allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily
  • adjective lasting a very short time
  • noun (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
  • adverb to an extreme degree
  • noun euphemistic expressions for death
  • noun going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From pass +‎ -ing.

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Examples

  • And now one had touched him so completely that a mere glance over her shoulder without a word passing between them had made him follow her.

    Surrender the Dark L. A. Banks 2011

  • Mentioned in passing is the kids 'multi-racial background: Dad is black, mom was white.

    'Pyramid': It's another towering Riordan tale of mythology 2010

  • And now one had touched him so completely that a mere glance over her shoulder without a word passing between them had made him follow her.

    Surrender the Dark L. A. Banks 2011

  • And yes, accusing someone of "intergalactic war-mongering" even in passing is one and only one thing:

    First Look: G.I. Joe's Scarlett Revealed! « FirstShowing.net 2008

  • But like David Lynch and Jack Kerouac, Callahan, whom I only know in passing, is grossly misunderstood by his fans.

    GreenCine Daily: PIFF Dispatch. 4. 2007

  • Some guy on the radio said so, obviously all of my problems are cured and all of that social pressure he mentioned in passing is miraculously lifted!

    ATTENTION LADIES!! « Love | Peace | Ohana 2006

  • To Polly, what he reveals in passing is a world where drunken riot was frequent, and sensibility about what crime is serious was very different.

    Archive 2005-04-17 Laban 2005

  • To Polly, what he reveals in passing is a world where drunken riot was frequent, and sensibility about what crime is serious was very different.

    "a golden age of law and order" Laban 2005

  • I only knew Bill in passing from the pre-Outpost days when he held court at noon on Fridays at the Elks. He was a natural leader as well as a civic leader and a take charge kind of guy.

    R.I.P. David 2005

  • To Polly, what he reveals in passing is a world where drunken riot was frequent, and sensibility about what crime is serious was very different.

    April 17, 2005 Laban 2005

  • The term “passing” can be problematic because it implies that a person has to “convince” others of their gender, rather than being able to simply express their true self.

    What Does It Mean to Be Visible in a Gender? Condé Nast 2020

Comments

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  • surpassingly

    August 2, 2007

  • Useful as a modifier of intensity: "passing strange that the moon should be purple to-night!" "That's passing early for Joe to be awake."

    August 21, 2008

  • Really? Good to know. Apparently, it had the opposite meaning in the past (no. 5).

    August 21, 2008

  • It's passing strange, but I do like the phrase "passing strange." :-)

    August 21, 2008

  • Probably true. I was actually unsure. Note that my examples can be construed either way.

    August 21, 2008