pass out

What does "pass out" mean?

1. To lose consciousness; to faint
2. To distribute something to people

Examples

• She passed out from the heat.
• Can you help me pass out these flyers?
• I nearly passed out when I heard the news.
• The teacher passed out the exam papers.
• He drank too much and passed out on the couch.

How to use it

'Pass out' for fainting is common in everyday speech. 'Passed out drunk' means unconscious from alcohol.

Word order

For fainting: intransitive. For distributing: separable ('pass the papers out').

Similar expressions

Opposites

Related phrasal verbs

• pass away

  To die (euphemism)

• pass on

  To give information or a message to someone else

• 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

• get out

  To leave a place, room, or vehicle