pass out

present singular third person passes out · participle present passing out · participle past passed out · past passed out

1. intransitiveTo faint; to become unconscious.

   I pass out at the sight of blood.

   2 more examples

   I passed out on the train after drinking a bottle of vodka.

   At the end of the presentations, the whole folk scene joined hands and sang We Shall Overcome so many times that everybody passed out.

   1965 December, Phil Ochs, “That Was The Year That Weren't”, in Cavalier

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. transitiveTo distribute.

   Near-synonyms: hand out, give out

   1 more example

   We'll pass out copies of the agenda.

   Synonyms: hand out, give out

4. usuallyfire-fighterslaw enforcementTo 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.

   1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 113

   1 more example

   "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.

   2022 July 13, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 961, page 71

5. broadlyTo become proficient in a particular job or task.

   1 more example

   "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."

   2018, Rail, issue 857, July 18-July 31, article on Severn Bridge Junction signal box at Shrewsbury

6. IndiaTo graduate from university.

   He passed out of the Madras University in 1990.

7. transitivebridgeTo 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?”

   1882, James Jackson, Tom Terror, the Outlaw