passing

pass|ing1 [ `pæsıŋ ] adjective only before noun *

1. ) moving past:

He was found by a passing motorist.

Bridget grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

2. ) lasting only a short time, and usually not very important or serious:

a passing craze/fashion

It wasn't really a romance, just a passing flirtation.

3. ) slight:

She bore a passing resemblance to the missing woman.

4. ) not thorough or detailed:

a passing knowledge of French

a passing grade/mark AMERICAN

a grade that you need to reach in order to succeed in an examination or course

passing

pass|ing 2 [ `pæsıŋ ] noun uncount *

1. ) someone's death. This word is used to avoid saying death when you think this might upset someone:

She was a wonderful teacher, and her passing is a great loss to the school.

2. ) the process by which time passes:

passing of: Even with the passing of time, nothing had happened to change his view.

3. ) the process by which something ends or stops existing:

passing of: It's sad to see the passing of their traditional way of life.

in passing

if you say something in passing, you mention it while you are talking about something else:

He mentioned her in passing but I didn't think anything of it at the time.