pass off
verb
passed off; passing off; passes off
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
Dexterous montage keeps being passed off as exploratory depth.
—
Wesley Morris, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
In the first half, Benjamin passed off to open teammates whenever he was double-teamed, but the shots weren’t falling.
—Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2025
As for Dexter, he’s forced into a minor plot detour to draw blood, inadvertently giving up two pints himself (one because Clark has had an HIV exposure and needs to pass off someone else’s blood as his own, and the other because Masuka corners Dexter into donating).
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Researchers found a significant number of the restaurants were passing off their shrimp as locally sourced, even though they were grown on foreign farms and imported to the U.S.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pass off 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Wesley Morris, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
In the first half, Benjamin passed off to open teammates whenever he was double-teamed, but the shots weren’t falling.
—Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2025
As for Dexter, he’s forced into a minor plot detour to draw blood, inadvertently giving up two pints himself (one because Clark has had an HIV exposure and needs to pass off someone else’s blood as his own, and the other because Masuka corners Dexter into donating).
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
Researchers found a significant number of the restaurants were passing off their shrimp as locally sourced, even though they were grown on foreign farms and imported to the U.S.
—Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pass off
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 18 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
pass off
transitive verb1
: 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
W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton2
: 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share