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

Once the victim had been convinced that their relative had been arrested, the call was passed off to another scammer at the call center posing as an attorney representing the elderly victim’s relative. —Steve Weisman, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025

Finally, a slice of these tracks are fraudulent, such as from fake artists or fraudsters passing off famous musicians’ music as their own. —Bill Rosenblatt, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

The tax will then have to be passed off to the consumer. —Hannah Poukish, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2025

Focus on the glass balls, pass off the plastic balls and let the rubber balls bounce. —Jay Gauthier Jr., Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pass off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

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