11 Common Phrasal Verbs with PASS (With Meanings & Examples)

Phrasal verbs with PASS allow you to describe movement, transfer, refusal, survival, and everyday actions more naturally in English. Because these verbs often change meaning depending on the particle used, understanding context and grammar is essential.

In this lesson, you will learn the most common phrasal verbs with PASS, with clear meanings, natural examples, and important grammar notes to help you use them correctly in conversations and writing.

List of Phrasal Verbs with PASS

Pass away
Pass by
Pass down
Pass off
Pass on
Pass out
Pass over
Pass round
Pass through
Pass to
Pass up

Phrasal verbs with pass meanings and examples in English — Common phrasal verbs with PASS

Phrasal Verbs with PASS: Meaning and Examples

Pass away

intransitive

📖 To die; to cease living (polite and indirect way of saying someone died)

The writer passed away peacefully at the age of 82.

My grandfather passed away last winter after a long illness.

🔄 Synonyms: diepass ondepart

Pass by

/pæs baɪ/ intransitiveinseparable

📖 1 To move past a place or person without stopping

The train passed by the station without slowing down.

📖 2 To miss or ignore an opportunity

He let a great chance pass by when he declined the job offer.

📖 3 To describe time going quickly

The summer passed by too fast.

🔄 Synonyms: go pastmissmove on

Pass down

/pæs daʊn/ transitiveseparable

📖 1 To transfer something from an older generation to a younger one

The story was passed down from grandparents to children.

📖 2 To hand over knowledge, traditions, or skills through generations

My mother passed down her recipe for apple pie to me.

🔄 Synonyms: hand downtransferbequeath

Pass off

/pæs ɒf/ transitive-intransitiveinseparable

📖 1 To happen and finish successfully or without problems

The ceremony passed off without any issues or disruptions.

📖 2 To present something false as true in order to deceive

He tried to pass off fake documents as originals.

🔄 Synonyms: go smoothlypretendproceed

Pass on

/pæs ɒn/ transitive-intransitiveseparable

📖 1 To give information or a message to someone else

Please pass on this message to your manager.

📖 2 To decline an offer or invitation

She decided to pass on the dinner invitation because she was tired.

📖 3 To die (euphemism, same as pass away)

He passed on quietly in his sleep.

🔄 Synonyms: telldeclinedie

The first five phrasal verbs with pass show how this verb expresses passing away, movement, transfer, and succession. “Pass away” and “pass on” both relate to death, while “pass by” and “pass down” focus on temporal or generational movement. “Pass off” describes events completing without incident. These foundational verbs establish the core concept of movement and transition across time and generations.

Pass out

/pæs aʊt/ transitive-intransitiveseparable

📖 1 To faint; to become unconscious suddenly

He felt dizzy and passed out on the train.

📖 2 To distribute something to a group of people

The staff passed out forms at the entrance to the event.

🔄 Synonyms: faintlose consciousnesshand out

Pass over

/pæs ˈəʊvə(r)/ transitiveinseparable

📖 1 To ignore or not give attention to something

Let’s pass over the small details for now and focus on the main points.

📖 2 To not choose someone for a job, reward, or promotion

She was passed over for promotion despite her strong performance.

🔄 Synonyms: overlookskipignore

Pass round

/pæs raʊnd/ transitiveseparable

📖 1 To give something to each person in a group

Could you pass round these cookies to everyone at the table?

📖 2 To circulate or distribute something among people

She passed round the photographs from her vacation.

🔄 Synonyms: hand arounddistributecirculate

Pass through

/pæs θruː/ transitive-intransitiveinseparable

📖 1 To travel through a place without staying long

We passed through the village on our way to the coast.

📖 2 To experience a stage or period, often difficult

She’s passing through a challenging time in her life right now.

🔄 Synonyms: go throughmove throughtraverse

Pass to

/pæs tuː/ transitiveinseparable

📖 1 To give or move something to another person

He passed the ball to the striker during the match.

📖 2 To direct control or attention to someone

The manager passed responsibility to the assistant.

🔄 Synonyms: givetransferhand

The second group of phrasal verbs demonstrates how “pass” extends into distribution, movement through space or time, and transfer of responsibility. “Pass out” shows the verb’s dual nature—both losing consciousness and giving items to people. “Pass over” emphasizes omission or rejection, while “pass round,” “pass through,” and “pass to” focus on direction and distribution of movement. These verbs solidify the concept of passing as both physical and figurative action.

Pass up

/pæs ʌp/ transitiveseparable

📖 1 To decline or reject an opportunity or offer

Don’t pass up the chance to learn from experienced people.

📖 2 To choose not to take advantage of something good

He passed up the job opportunity because it required relocating.

🔄 Synonyms: declineturn downreject

Common Mistakes with Phrasal Verbs with PASS

❌ Wrong “I passed away the opportunity.” (Incorrect—uses wrong phrasal verb)

✅ Correct “I passed up the opportunity.” (Correct—”pass up” means to decline or reject)

❌ Wrong “She was passed down for promotion.” (Incorrect—wrong particle)

✅ Correct “She was passed over for promotion.” (Correct—”pass over” means to overlook or not choose)

❌ Wrong “Can you pass through the documents?” (Incorrect—suggests traveling through, not distributing)

✅ Correct “Can you pass out the documents?” or “Can you pass the documents round?” (Correct—distribute to everyone)

Key Grammar Notes

Dialogue Examples with Phrasal Verbs with PASS

💬 A Missed Opportunity

A: Did you accept the training program abroad?
B: No, I passed it up. The timing wasn’t right.
A: Are you sure? That was a big chance.
B: I know. I just didn’t want to let it pass by without thinking carefully.
A: Well, you can always apply next year.

In this dialogue, the phrasal verbs “pass up” and “pass by” are used naturally when discussing missed opportunities and decision-making.

If you want to build a more natural and fluent understanding of phrasal verbs, it’s helpful to explore them by common verbs used in everyday English. You can continue learning with these useful lessons on 7ESL, including Phrasal Verbs with GET, Phrasal Verbs with GO, Phrasal Verbs with COME, Phrasal Verbs with GIVE, and Phrasal Verbs with TAKE—each packed with clear meanings, real-life examples, and practical usage to help you sound more like a native speaker.