PASSAGE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does passage mean? 

• PASSAGE (noun)
  The noun PASSAGE has 10 senses:

1. the act of passing from one state or place to the next
2. a section of text; particularly a section of medium length
3. a way through or along which someone or something may pass
4. the passing of a law by a legislative body
5. a journey usually by ship
6. a short section of a musical composition
7. a path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass
8. a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another
9. the motion of one object relative to another
10. the act of passing something to another person

  Familiarity information: PASSAGE used as a noun is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PASSAGE (noun)

Sense 1

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The act of passing from one state or place to the next

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

passage; transition

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

change of state (the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

fossilisation; fossilization (becoming inflexible or out of date)

segue (the act of changing smoothly from one state or situation to another)

Sense 2

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A section of text; particularly a section of medium length

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

section; subdivision (a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

text (a passage from the Bible that is used as the subject of a sermon)

transition (a passage that connects a topic to one that follows)

purple passage (a passage full of ornate and flowery language)

place (the passage that is being read)

locus classicus (an authoritative and often-quoted passage)

excerpt; excerption; extract; selection (a passage selected from a larger work)

Holonyms ("passage" is a part of...):

text; textual matter (the words of something written)

Sense 3

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A way through or along which someone or something may pass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

way (any artifact consisting of a road or path affording passage from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

throat (a passage resembling a throat in shape or function)

shaft (a vertical passage into a mine)

right of way (the passage consisting of a path or strip of land over which someone has the legal right to pass)

passageway (a passage between rooms or between buildings)

fish ladder (a series of ascending pools providing a passage for salmon to swim upstream past a dam)

cul; cul de sac; dead end (a passage with access only at one end)

conduit (a passage (a pipe or tunnel) through which water or electric wires can pass)

channel (a passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through)

aisle (a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods))

adit (a nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine)

Sense 4

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The passing of a law by a legislative body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

enactment; passage

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

lawmaking; legislating; legislation (the act of making or enacting laws)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 5

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A journey usually by ship

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

transit; passage

Context example:

the outward passage took 10 days

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

journey; journeying (the act of traveling from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

lockage (passage through a lock in a canal or waterway)

Sense 6

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A short section of a musical composition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

musical passage; passage

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

composition; musical composition; opus; piece; piece of music (a musical work that has been created)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

modulation; transition (a musical passage moving from one key to another)

recitative (a vocal passage of narrative text that a singer delivers with natural rhythms of speech)

adagio ((music) a composition played in adagio tempo (slowly and gracefully))

largo ((music) a composition or passage that is to be performed in a slow and dignified manner)

cadenza (a brilliant solo passage occuring near the end of a piece of music)

cadence (the close of a musical section)

musical phrase; phrase (a short musical passage)

intro (a brief introductory passage to a piece of popular music)

allegro (a musical composition or passage performed quickly in a brisk lively manner)

impromptu (a short musical passage that seems to have been made spontaneously without advance preparation)

Sense 7

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

passageway; passage

Context example:

the nasal passages

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

esophagus; gorge; gullet; oesophagus (the passage between the pharynx and the stomach)

epicardia (the short part of the esophagus extending downward from the diaphragm to the stomach)

fauces (the passage between the back of the mouth and the pharynx)

fistula; sinus (an abnormal passage leading from a suppurating cavity to the body surface)

shunt (a passage by which a bodily fluid (especially blood) is diverted from one channel to another)

root canal (the passage in the root of a tooth through which its nerve and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity)

carpal tunnel (a passageway in the wrist through which nerves and the flexor muscles of the hands pass)

sinusoid (tiny endothelium-lined passages for blood in the tissue of an organ)

canal; channel; duct; epithelial duct (a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance)

opening; orifice; porta (an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity)

meatus (a natural body passageway)

birth canal (a passage in the uterus and vagina through which a fetus passes during vaginal birth)

Sense 8

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

passing; passage

Context examples:

the passage of air from the lungs / the passing of flatus

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

reaction; response (a bodily process occurring due to the effect of some foregoing stimulus or agent)

Sense 9

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The motion of one object relative to another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

passing; passage

Context example:

stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

motion; movement (a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something)

Sense 10

passage [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The act of passing something to another person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

handing over; passage

Hypernyms ("passage" is a kind of...):

bringing; delivery (the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "passage"):

relay (the act of passing something along from one person or group to another)