Meaning & use
pass out
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Meanings
verbphrasal verbinformal
To suddenly lose consciousness for a short time, for example because of heat, shock, pain or too much alcohol.
Grammar: No object: she passed out. Do not say 'pass out her'.
Patterns
- pass out from something
- pass out with something
Several runners passed out in the heat before the finish line.
He felt dizzy and nearly passed out when he saw the blood.
After the party, my cousin passed out on the sofa.
verbphrasal verb
To hand something out to each person in a group.
Grammar: Takes an object, which can come before or after out: pass out the papers or pass the papers out.
Patterns
- pass out something to someone
- pass something out
The teacher passed out the exam booklets and told us to wait.
Volunteers were passing out free water bottles at the finish line.
Could you pass these flyers out to everyone in the queue?
verbphrasal verbBritishIndianmilitary
To complete a course of training at a military or police academy and officially graduate.
Grammar: No object; used mostly in British and Indian English, often with from.
Patterns
- pass out from something
He passed out from the naval academy at the top of his class.
The new officers will pass out on Friday in front of their families.
Word forms
| third person singular | passes out |
|---|---|
| past tense | passed out |
| past participle | passed out |
| -ing form | passing out |
Common combinations
- nearly pass out
- I nearly passed out when I heard the price.
- pass out from the heat
- A few spectators passed out from the heat.
- pass out drunk
- He passed out drunk and slept until noon.
- pass out leaflets
- Students were passing out leaflets outside the library.
- pass out cold
- She hit the floor and passed out cold.
- pass out from exhaustion
- The marathon runner passed out from exhaustion at the line.
Synonyms and how they differ
- faint
- Faint is the plain, neutral word, and suits medical or careful writing, while pass out is more casual and also covers drinking.
- black out
- Black out stresses the sudden loss of sight and awareness, and is often used for pilots, drivers or heavy drinkers.
- collapse
- Collapse emphasizes falling down from weakness or illness, and does not necessarily mean losing consciousness.
- hand out
- Hand out is the closest match for the distributing sense, but it sounds a little more personal, whereas pass out can suggest passing items along a row.
Opposites
Word family
- passing-out adjective
- relating to the completion of military training, as in passing-out parade
- passout noun
- an informal word for a person who has fainted from drink
- pass verb
- to move or hand something along
Commonly confused: pass out or pass away? pass out or pass on?
pass out vs pass away
Pass away is a gentle way to say someone has died, whereas pass out means to lose consciousness for a short time.
pass out vs pass on
Pass on means to hand something to another person or to decline an offer, and can also mean to die.
Practice
The room was so hot and crowded that one guest almost ___ and had to sit on the floor.
Choose one answer.
Passed out means briefly lost consciousness, which fits the heat and the need to sit down. Passed away means died, a tempting but much more serious meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pass out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.