pass2

 
Pronunciation: /pɑːs/

noun

  • a route over or through mountains: the pass over the mountain was open again after the snows [in place names]: the Khyber Pass
  • a passage for fish over or past a weir or dam: a programme to build salmon passes at weirs and other obstacles

Phrases

head (or cut) someone/thing off at the pass

forestall someone or something: he came up with this story at the last minute, just to cut me off at the pass

sell the pass

British betray a cause: he is merciless to other poets whom he considers to have sold the pass

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'division of a text, passage through'): variant of pace1, influenced by pass1 and French pas