pass away

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English

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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pass away (third-person singular simple present passes away, present participle passing away, simple past and past participle passed away)

  1. (euphemistic, idiomatic) To die.
    After a long battle with cancer, the professor passed away yesterday.
  2. (archaic, literary) To disappear; to cease to be; to be no more.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. [] The First Part [], 2nd edition, part 1, London: [] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, [], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene i:
      Returne with ſpeed, time paſſeth ſwift away,
      Our life is fraile, and we may dye to day.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, [] (King James Version), London: [] Robert Barker, [], →OCLC, Revelation 21:4:
      And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
    • 1946 May and June, J. Alan Rannie, “The Midland of 35 Years Ago”, in Railway Magazine, page 200:
      Though the writer has striven to dwell on aspects that have passed, or are passing away, it will be apparent that many features of Midland practice have been adopted as standard for the L.M.S.R. and other railways.
  3. (obsolete) To spend; to waste.

Usage notes

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Usually refers to death by natural causes or medical conditions.

Synonyms

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Translations

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