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in passing

 - 3 dictionary results
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pass⋅ing

  [pas-ing, pah-sing]
Use in passing in a Sentence
–adjective
1. going by or past; elapsing: He was feeling better with each passing day.
2. brief, fleeting, or fortuitous; transitory: to take a passing fancy to something.
3. done, given, etc., in passing; cursory: a passing mention.
4. surpassing, preeminent, or extreme.
5. indicating satisfactory performance in a course, on a paper, in a test, etc.: a passing grade on a test.
–adverb
6. surpassingly; exceedingly; very.
–noun
7. the act of a person or thing that passes or causes something to pass.
8. a means or place of passage.
—Idiom
9. in passing, by the way; incidentally: The speaker mentioned his latest book in passing.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME; see pass, -ing 2 , -ing 1

Related forms:
pass⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
pass⋅ing⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pass·ing   (pās'ĭng)   
adj.  

  1. Moving by; going past: The child waved to the passing cars.

  2. Of brief duration; transitory: a passing fancy.

  3. Cursory or superficial; casual: a passing glance.

  4. Allowing one to pass a test, course of study, inspection, or examination; satisfactory: a passing grade.

  5. Archaic Very or great; surpassing: "'Tis a passing shame" (Shakespeare).

adv.  Very; surpassingly: "I will mention only one particular aspect of the current mess because ... this one is surely something new and passing strange" (Walker Percy).
n.  

  1. The act of one that passes or the fact of having passed: the passing of another summer.

  2. A place where or a means by which one can pass.

  3. Death.

pass'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

in passing

Incidentally, by the way, as in "It may be remarked in passing" (Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, 1849). [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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