Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pass \Pass\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Passed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Passing}.] [F. passer, LL. passare, fr. L. passus step, or
   from pandere, passum, to spread out, lay open. See {Pace}.]
   1. To go; to move; to proceed; to be moved or transferred
      from one point to another; to make a transit; -- usually
      with a following adverb or adverbal phrase defining the
      kind or manner of motion; as, to pass on, by, out, in,
      etc.; to pass swiftly, directly, smoothly, etc.; to pass
      to the rear, under the yoke, over the bridge, across the
      field, beyond the border, etc. ``But now pass over [i. e.,
      pass on].'' --Chaucer.

            On high behests his angels to and fro Passed
            frequent.                             --Milton.

            Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths, And
            from their bodies passed.             --Coleridge.

   2. To move or be transferred from one state or condition to
      another; to change possession, condition, or
      circumstances; to undergo transition; as, the business has
      passed into other hands.

            Others, dissatisfied with what they have, . . . pass
            from just to unjust.                  --Sir W.
                                                  Temple.

   3. To move beyond the range of the senses or of knowledge; to
      pass away; hence, to disappear; to vanish; to depart;
      specifically, to depart from life; to die.

            Disturb him not, let him pass paceably. --Shak.

            Beauty is a charm, but soon the charm will pass.
                                                  --Dryden.

            The passing of the sweetest soul That ever looked
            with human eyes.                      --Tennyson.

   4. To move or to come into being or under notice; to come and
      go in consciousness; hence, to take place; to occur; to
      happen; to come; to occur progressively or in succession;
      to be present transitorily.

            So death passed upon all men.         --Rom. v. 12.

            Our own consciousness of what passes within our own
            mind.                                 --I. Watts.

   5. To go by or glide by, as time; to elapse; to be spent; as,
      their vacation passed pleasantly.

            Now the time is far passed.           --Mark vi. 35

   6. To go from one person to another; hence, to be given and
      taken freely; as, clipped coin will not pass; to obtain
      general acceptance; to be held or regarded; to circulate;
      to be current; -- followed by for before a word denoting
      value or estimation. ``Let him pass for a man.'' --Shak.

            False eloquence passeth only where true is not
            understood.                           --Felton.

            This will not pass for a fault in him. --Atterbury.

   7. To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to
      validity or effectiveness; to be carried through a body
      that has power to sanction or reject; to receive
      legislative sanction; to be enacted; as, the resolution
      passed; the bill passed both houses of Congress.

   8. To go through any inspection or test successfully; to be
      approved or accepted; as, he attempted the examination,
      but did not expect to pass.

   9. To be suffered to go on; to be tolerated; hence, to
      continue; to live along. ``The play may pass.'' --Shak.

   10. To go unheeded or neglected; to proceed without hindrance
       or opposition; as, we let this act pass.

   11. To go beyond bounds; to surpass; to be in excess. [Obs.]
       ``This passes, Master Ford.'' --Shak.

   12. To take heed; to care. [Obs.]

             As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass not.
                                                  --Shak.

   13. To go through the intestines. --Arbuthnot.

   14. (Law) To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or
       other instrument of conveyance; as, an estate passes by a
       certain clause in a deed. --Mozley & W.

   15. (Fencing) To make a lunge or pass; to thrust.

   16. (Card Playing & other games) To decline to take an
       optional action when it is one's turn, as to decline to
       bid, or to bet, or to play a card; in euchre, to decline
       to make the trump.

             She would not play, yet must not pass. --Prior.

   17. In football, hockey, etc., to make a pass; to transfer
       the ball, etc., to another player of one's own side.
       [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   {To bring to pass}, {To come to pass}. See under {Bring}, and
      {Come}.

   {To pass away}, to disappear; to die; to vanish. ``The
      heavens shall pass away.'' --2 Pet. iii. 10. ``I thought
      to pass away before, but yet alive I am.'' --Tennyson.

   {To pass by}, to go near and beyond a certain person or
      place; as, he passed by as we stood there.

   {To pass into}, to change by a gradual transmission; to blend
      or unite with.

   {To pass on}, to proceed.

   {To pass on} or {upon}.
       (a) To happen to; to come upon; to affect. ``So death
           passed upon all men.'' --Rom. v. 12. ``Provided no
           indirect act pass upon our prayers to define them.''
           --Jer. Taylor.
       (b) To determine concerning; to give judgment or sentence
           upon. ``We may not pass upon his life.'' --Shak.

   {To pass off}, to go away; to cease; to disappear; as, an
      agitation passes off.

   {To pass over}, to go from one side or end to the other; to
      cross, as a river, road, or bridge.

Passing \Pass"ing\, adv.
   Exceedingly; excessively; surpassingly; as, passing fair;
   passing strange. ``You apprehend passing shrewdly.'' --Shak.

Passing \Pass"ing\, n.
   The act of one who, or that which, passes; the act of going
   by or away.

   {Passing bell}, 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. --Sir W. Scott. --Longfellow.

Passing \Pass"ing\, a.
   1. Relating to the act of passing or going; going by, beyond,
      through, or away; departing.

   2. Exceeding; surpassing, eminent. --Chaucer. ``Her passing
      deformity.'' --Shak.

   {Passing note} (Mus.), a character including a passing tone.
      

   {Passing tone} (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.

Source : WordNet®

passing
     adj 1: enduring a very short time; "the ephemeral joys of
            childhood"; "a passing fancy"; "youth's transient
            beauty"; "love is transitory but at is eternal";
            "fugacious blossoms" [syn: {ephemeral}, {short-lived},
             {transient}, {transitory}, {fugacious}]
     2: of advancing the ball by throwing it; "a team with a good
        passing attack"; "a pass play" [syn: {passing(a)}, {pass(a)}]
        [ant: {running(a)}]
     3: allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection)
        satisfactorily; "a passing grade" [syn: {passing(a)}]
     4: hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough; "a
        casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the
        house's structural flaws"; "a passing glance";
        "perfunctory courtesy" [syn: {casual}, {cursory}, {passing(a)},
         {perfunctory}]

passing
     adv : to an extreme degree or extent; "his eyesight was
           exceedingly defective" [syn: {exceedingly}, {extremely}]

passing
     n 1: (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" [syn: {pass}, {passing play}, {passing
          game}]
     2: euphemistic expressions for death; "thousands mourned his
        passing" [syn: {loss}, {departure}, {exit}, {expiration},
        {going}, {release}]
     3: the motion of one object relative to another; "stellar
        passings can perturb the orbits of comets" [syn: {passage}]
     4: the end of something; "the passing of winter"
     5: a bodily process of passing from one place or stage to
        another; "the passage of air from the lungs"; "the passing
        of flatus" [syn: {passage}]
     6: 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" [syn: {overtaking}]
     7: success in satisfying a test or requirement; "his future
        depended on his passing that test"; "he got a pass in
        introductory chemistry" [syn: {pass}, {qualifying}] [ant:
        {failing}]