pass on

What does "pass on" mean?

1. To give information or a message to someone else
2. To die (euphemism)
3. To decline an offer or opportunity

Examples

• Could you pass on my thanks to your mother?
• I think I'll pass on dessert tonight.
• She passed on her love of music to her children.
• Please pass the message on to your colleagues.
• He passed on last winter.

How to use it

'Pass on' meaning decline is informal. 'Pass something on' for transmission is very common in business.

Word order

For messages: separable ('pass the information on'). For declining: 'pass on' + noun.

Similar expressions

Opposites

Related phrasal verbs

• pass out

  To lose consciousness; to faint

• pass away

  To die (euphemism)

• pass up

  To choose not to take an opportunity

• pass by

  To go past a place or person

• pass through

  To travel through a place without stopping

• turn on

  To start a device or appliance by pressing a switch or button