pass outverb

• 1

  To faint; to become unconscious.

  • I pass out at the sight of blood.
  • I passed out on the train after drinking a bottle of vodka.
• 2

  slangTo fall asleep irrespective of wilful action, as a result of the consumption of alcohol or other drugs or another form of physiological exhaustion.

• 3

  To distribute.

  • Near-synonyms: hand out, give out
  • We'll pass out copies of the agenda.
• 4

  law-enforcementpoliceTo graduate, usually marked by a ceremony at the end of training.

  • He wasn't allowed to finish his training to go to France; but was sent to England on a Physical Training Course and passed out First Class.
  • "She had asked at Paddington for a return to Lympstone on the Exmouth branch, where her son was due to pass out as a Royal Marine that afternoon, at the local training camp. "Presumably, the booking clerk had misheard her and sold her a ticket to Leominster, and other helpful staff had unwittingly helped her on her way.
• 5

  To become proficient in a particular job or task.

  • "It took me about a month to pass out on this box," he adds. "It's easy to be daunted by all the levers and bell codes and Absolute Block, but it's all the usual rules of anywhere else. You can't just come up here from the street though, and I thought I'd never be able to work this SB [signal box], but you just get on with it until it becomes second nature."
• 6

  To graduate from university.

  • He passed out of the Madras University in 1990.
• 7

  bridgegamesTo end (a round) by having passes as the first four bids.

• 8

  Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pass, out.

  • “You speak of terms,” she said. “These are mine. Stand aside and let me pass.” […] “So you accede to my terms?” she said. “I am to pass out?”