pass off

verb

passed off; passing off; passes off

transitive verb

1
: to make public or offer for sale with intent to deceive
2
: to give a false identity or character to

Examples of pass off in a Sentence

the con man tried to pass off a piece of blue glass as a sapphire
Recent Examples on the Web Leadership and teams were finger-pointing and passing off blame. Anne Sugar, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 Think of Disney trying to pass off the 1,000th iteration of Marvel or Star Wars (just kidding) as something new. Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2024 While those rallies and last Sunday’s passed off peacefully, at a campaign rally in Thuringia on Thursday, a man sprayed pink at BSW’s leader Sahra Wagenknecht. Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 31 Aug. 2024 Details regarding the closing ceremony remain under lock-and-key, but one detail that is known is that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will be passing off the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pass off 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pass off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pass off was in 1681

Dictionary Entries Near pass off

Cite this Entry

“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pass%20off. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

pass off

verb
: to give a false identity to : describe untruthfully

Legal Definition

pass off

transitive verb
1
: to make public or offer for sale (goods or services) with intent to deceive : palm off
passing his product off as that of the plaintiff'sW. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
see also unfair competition
2
: to give a false identity or character to
they created the documents on the day of the trial and passed them off as being made earlier

More from Merriam-Webster on pass off

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