make a pass

verb

To unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been involved with.

“He clumsily made a pass at the prom queen, and she responded with a scowl.”

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Meanings

verbmake a pass (third-person singular simple present makes a pass, present participle making a pass, simple past and past participle made a pass)

present singular third person makes a pass · participle present making a pass · participle past made a pass · past made a pass

  1. To unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been involved with.

    He clumsily made a pass at the prom queen, and she responded with a scowl.

    3 more examples

    Men seldom make passes / At girls who wear glasses.

    1926, Dorothy Parker, “News Item”, in Enough Rope, page 85

    You know, all those nights we stayed up talking…How come you never made a pass at me?

    1985, Joel Schumacher, Carl Kurlander, St. Elmo's Fire (motion picture), spoken by Julianna "Jules" Van Patten (Demi Moore)

    One night, with their inhibitions loosened by moonshine, Jack makes a pass at Ennis and the two men have sex in a tent

    2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
come on tohit onproposition

Translations

Hungarian kikezd
  • kikezdto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
Polish dobierać się, dobrać się
  • dobierać sięto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
  • dobrać sięto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
  • przystawiać sięto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
  • przystawić sięto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
Russian подкатывать, приударить
  • подкатывать (podkatyvatʹ)to unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
  • приударить (priudaritʹ)to unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
Spanish insinuarse, propasarse con
  • insinuarseto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
  • propasarse conto unambiguously indicate interest in romantic or sexual involvement to someone the speaker has not previously been sexually involved with
Cite this entry
APA

make a pass. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20a%20pass

MLA

“make a pass.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20a%20pass. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make a pass,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20a%20pass.

Source: make a pass on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.