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

Synonyms

• fob off
• foist
• palm
• palm off
• wish

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

For example, in-house staff would handle quality control and strategy, making sure that whatever work is passed off to an agency or freelancer(s) aligns with your brand’s long-term goals. —Yates Jarvis, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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's

—W. 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