pass up

verb

passed up; passing up; passes up

transitive verb

: to let go by without accepting or taking advantage of

pass up a chance for promotion

also : decline, reject

Synonyms of pass up

• refuse
• reject
• decline
• turn down
• throw over

Examples of pass up in a Sentence

I must pass up the offer to be chairman of this event.

Recent Examples on the Web

Seoul claims Ukraine requested secrecy to avoid domestic criticism for passing up the opportunity to exchange the North Koreans for Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026

One thing Raye will never pass up is an opportunity to bring big band back to big stages. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

The Steelers’ offense could limit his upside, but the opportunity in a potentially high-scoring game is too good to pass up. — Jonathan Rubin, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2026

Franco Sarto Geralyna Boots Franco Sarto is one of my go-to comfortable shoe brands, and these on sale knee-high boots are too good to pass up. — Melony Forcier, InStyle, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pass up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup