Meaning & use
passion projects
Last updated
“passion projects” is a form of “passion project”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounpluralinformal
Personal activities or creations that someone chooses to work on because they care deeply about them, not mainly for pay or because they must.
Grammar: This is the plural of passion project: one passion project, two passion projects.
Patterns
- work on passion projects
- a passion project about something
Beside his day job, he spends weekends on passion projects like building wooden toys.
The company lets staff use Friday afternoons for passion projects.
Her passion projects, from podcasts to a community garden, fill her evenings.
Word forms
| singular | passion project |
|---|
Common combinations
- work on passion projects
- I try to work on passion projects after dinner.
- pursue passion projects
- Many artists pursue passion projects in their spare time.
- personal passion projects
- He shares his personal passion projects online.
- time for passion projects
- After the promotion, she had little time for passion projects.
- fund passion projects
- They fund passion projects through small crowdfunding campaigns.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hobbies
- Hobbies are leisure activities and may be casual, but passion projects usually involve making or finishing something meaningful.
- side projects
- Side projects stress that the work is outside a main job and may be aimed at income, unlike passion projects, which stress love of the work.
- labors of love
- Labors of love suggests great effort and devotion over a long time, so it is more emotional than passion projects.
Opposites
Word family
- passion noun
- strong enthusiasm for something
- passionate adjective
- showing strong feeling or enthusiasm
- passionately adverb
- in a way that shows deep feeling
- project noun
- a planned piece of work
Commonly confused: passion projects or side hustle?
passion projects vs side hustle
A side hustle is mainly meant to earn extra money, while a passion project is done for love of the subject.
Practice
Maya's novel is not for sale; it is one of several ___ she works on for fun.
Choose one answer.
Passion projects are things done out of love, not for pay. The other options suggest obligations or income, which do not fit the idea of working for fun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “passion projects”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.