pass up

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɑːs ˈʌp/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

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

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To refuse (not accept); forgo.

   He passed up my invitation for dinner, saying he was too busy.

   • 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Everton were, perhaps understandably, deflated at the setback and it was no surprise when Suarez added Liverpool's second after 82 minutes. Distin and Baines were involved in a mix-up as the Uruguayan advanced into the area, and he was not about to pass up the gift to shoot low past Howard.

   • 2023 October 19, Brendan I. Koerner, “Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era”, in Wired‎^[2], →ISSN:

     But he also feared that if he passed up the opportunity, he’d never learn the skills necessary to take his clients to the next level.

2. (Singapore, Malaysia, transitive) To submit (hand in) items to a person, usually one's teacher.

   The teacher told us to pass up our English homework.

   • 1979 September 16, “THE TWENTY MAXIMS”, in The Straits Times‎^[3], page 1:

     Be punctual and pass up schoolwork on time.

   • 2004, Lana Yiu Lan Khong, Family Matters: The Role of Parents in the Singapore Education, page 159:

     The teachers called me, she doesn't do her work, she doesn't pass up work, she'll hide her papers everywhere.

   • 2015 May 11, Hafsah Ali, Shhhh!!! Can Airport Talk?:

     At times, when I had to pass up assignments, I did them whenever I had any free time at work.

3. (transitive) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pass,‎ up.

   Can you pass up this box to the guy on the ladder?

Usage notes

Sense 2 is typically used in Singapore in educational contexts; more often in speech than writing.

Synonyms

• withgo

Derived terms

• pass up like a white chip

Translations

literal sense

• Finnish: ojentaa (ylös)

to refuse; forgo

• Finnish: kieltäytyä (fi), jättää väliin

to submit, such as homework to a teacher

• Finnish: luovuttaa (fi)

Anagrams

• Suppas