pass away

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

Plain form pass away

Third-person singular passes away

Past tense passed away

Past participle passed away

Present participle passing away

1. (idiom) If someone passes away, they die.

   After my dad passed away, I had to help raise my brothers

Usage notes

We usually say someone passes away if they die from natural causes or a medical condition--we do not usually say it if someone is killed.