passing
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
How often you will meet it
Rank 841 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 21,711 times across 139,755 chapters — 0.010% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
noun
- (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate also: pass, passing play, passing game the coach sent in a passing play on third and long
- euphemistic expressions for death also: loss, departure, exit, expiration, going, release thousands mourned his passing
- the motion of one object relative to another also: passage 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 also: passage the passage of air from the lungsthe passing of flatus
- going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it also: overtaking she drove but well but her reckless passing of every car on the road frightened me
adjective
- lasting a very short time also: ephemeral, short-lived, transient, transitory, fugacious the ephemeral joys of childhooda passing fancy
passing in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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Benches nearly empty; Votes passing in basketsful; prorogue next week; to-day, practically, last working time.
Punch — Volume 99, August 16, 1890 · Various · Chapter 1
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At that very moment, the manager, M. de Thaller, happened to be passing through the hall.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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Toward sunset my frame was struck as with an arrow by the sensations of hunger on passing a cook's-shop.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Complete · George Meredith · Chapter 1
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This proceeded from one of two horsemen, who were recommencing their conversation and passing between them a pint of wine.
The Countess of Saint Geran Celebrated Crimes · Alexandre Dumas · Chapter 1
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Nothing was thought of this until one day the passing pedler brought the startling news that the Lord Protector was dead.
The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance · Hall, Sir Caine · Chapter 1