passage - Definition | Dictionary definition of passage

Definition of passage

Nouns

the act of passing from one state or place to the next

Synonyms:: transition

Types:: fossilisation, fossilization
becoming inflexible or out of date; segue
the act of changing smoothly from one state or situation to another

Type of:: change of state
the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics

a section of text; particularly a section of medium length

Examples:: Haphtarah
a short selection from the Prophets read on every Sabbath in a Jewish synagogue following a reading from the Torah

Types:: show 16 types...; hide 16 types...; excerpt, excerption, extract, selection
a passage selected from a larger work; chrestomathy
a selection of passages from different authors that is compiled as an aid in learning a language; analecta, analects
a collection of excerpts from a literary work; clipping, cutting, newspaper clipping, press clipping, press cutting
an excerpt cut from a newspaper or magazine; cut, track
a distinct selection of music from a recording or a compact disc; citation, quotation, quote
a passage or expression that is quoted or cited; locus classicus
an authoritative and often-quoted passage; place
the passage that is being read; purple passage
a passage full of ornate and flowery language; transition
a passage that connects a topic to one that follows; flashback
a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story; flash-forward
a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to a later event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story; dissolve
(film) a gradual transition from one scene to the next; the next scene is gradually superimposed as the former scene fades out; cut
(film) an immediate transition from one shot to the next; jump
(film) an abrupt transition from one scene to another; text
a passage from the Bible that is used as the subject of a sermon

Type of:: section, subdivision
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)

a way through or along which someone or something may pass

Examples:: trans-Alaska pipeline
an oil pipeline that runs 800 miles from wells at Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez; Channel Tunnel
the railroad tunnel between France and England under the English Channel

Types:: show 32 types...; hide 32 types...; adit
a nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine; aisle
a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods); channel
a passage for water (or other fluids) to flow through; gutter, trough
a channel along the eaves or on the roof; collects and carries away rainwater; limbers
a channel or gutter on either side of a ship's keelson; carries bilge water into the pump well; conduit
a passage (a pipe or tunnel) through which water or electric wires can pass; aqueduct
a conduit that resembles a bridge but carries water over a valley; duct
an enclosed conduit for a fluid; flue
a conduit to carry off smoke; millrace, millrun
a channel for the water current that turns a millwheel; penstock, sluice, sluiceway
conduit that carries a rapid flow of water controlled by a sluicegate; spill, spillway, wasteweir
a channel that carries excess water over or around a dam or other obstruction; tube, tubing
conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases; waterspout
a channel through which water is discharged (especially one used for drainage from the gutters of a roof); cul, cul de sac, dead end
a passage with access only at one end; fish ladder
a series of ascending pools providing a passage for salmon to swim upstream past a dam; passageway
a passage between rooms or between buildings; aisle, gangway
passageway between seating areas as in an auditorium or passenger vehicle or between areas of shelves of goods as in stores; arcade
a covered passageway with shops and stalls on either side; areaway
a passageway between buildings or giving access to a basement; corridor
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it; drift, gallery, heading
a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) passageway in a mine; gangway
a temporary passageway of planks (as over mud on a building site); gate
passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers can embark or disembark; shaft
a vertical passageway through a building (as for an elevator); tunnel
a passageway through or under something, usually underground (especially one for trains or cars); walk-through
a pedestrian passageway through the ground floor of a building; right of way
the passage consisting of a path or strip of land over which someone has the legal right to pass; shaft
a long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine or tunnel; air shaft, air well
a shaft for ventilation; downcast
a ventilation shaft through which air enters a mine; throat
a passage resembling a throat in shape or function

Type of:: way
any artifact consisting of a road or path affording passage from one place to another

the passing of a law by a legislative body

Synonyms:: enactment

Type of:: lawmaking, legislating, legislation
the act of making or enacting laws

a journey usually by ship

"the outward passage took 10 days"

Synonyms:: transit

Types:: lockage
passage through a lock in a canal or waterway

Type of:: journey, journeying
the act of traveling from one place to another

a short section of a musical composition

Synonyms:: musical passage

Types:: show 16 types...; hide 16 types...; allegro
a musical composition or musical passage to be performed quickly in a brisk lively manner; allegretto
a musical composition or musical passage to be performed at a somewhat quicker tempo than andante but not as fast as allegro; andante
a musical composition or musical passage to be performed moderately slow; intro
a brief introductory passage to a piece of popular music; musical phrase, phrase
a short musical passage; ligature
(music) a group of notes connected by a slur; ostinato
a musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition; cadence
the close of a musical section; amen cadence, plagal cadence
a cadence (frequently ending church music) in which the chord of the subdominant precedes the chord of the tonic; cadenza
a brilliant solo passage occurring near the end of a piece of music; largo
(music) a composition or passage that is to be performed in a slow and dignified manner; adagio
(music) a composition played in adagio tempo (slowly and gracefully); recitative
a vocal passage of narrative text that a singer delivers with natural rhythms of speech; arioso
(music) a short recitative that is melodic but is not an aria; modulation, transition
a musical passage moving from one key to another; impromptu
a short musical passage that seems to have been made spontaneously without advance preparation

Type of:: composition, musical composition, opus, piece, piece of music
a musical work that has been created

a path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass

"the nasal passages"

Synonyms:: passageway

Types:: show 63 types...; hide 63 types...; birth canal
a passage in the uterus and vagina through which a fetus passes during vaginal birth; meatus
a natural body passageway; acoustic meatus, auditory canal, auditory meatus, ear canal, external auditory canal
either of the passages in the outer ear from the auricle to the tympanic membrane; nasal meatus
the passages in the nasal cavity formed by the projections of the nasal conchae; opening, orifice, porta
an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity; vent
external opening of urinary or genital system of a lower vertebrate; blastopore
the opening into the archenteron; aortic orifice
the orifice from the lower left chamber of the heart to the aorta; stoma
a mouth or mouthlike opening (especially one created by surgery on the surface of the body to create an opening to an internal organ); porta hepatis
opening for major blood vessels to enter and leave the liver; spiracle
a breathing orifice; mouth
the externally visible part of the oral cavity on the face and the system of organs surrounding the opening; os
a mouth or mouthlike opening; cervix, cervix uteri, uterine cervix
necklike opening to the uterus; fenestra
a small opening covered with membrane (especially one in the bone between the middle and inner ear); cardia
the opening into the stomach and that part of the stomach connected to the esophagus; introitus
entrance or opening to a hollow organ or tube (especially the vaginal opening); external orifice, urethral orifice
the orifice through which urine is discharged; pylorus
a small circular opening between the stomach and the duodenum; anus
the excretory opening at the end of the alimentary canal; fontanel, fontanelle, soft spot
any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus; naris
any of the openings to the nasal cavities that allow air to flow through the cavities to the pharynx; rima
a narrow elongated opening or fissure between two symmetrical parts; canal, channel, duct, epithelial duct
a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance; pore
any small opening in the skin or outer surface of an animal; canalis vertebralis, spinal canal, vertebral canal
the canal in successive vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes; ductule, ductulus
a very small duct; canaliculus
a small canal or duct as in some bones and parts of plants; Schlemm's canal, canal of Schlemm, sinus venosus sclerae
a circular canal in the eye that drains aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye into the anterior ciliary veins; sinus, venous sinus
a wide channel containing blood; does not have the coating of an ordinary blood vessel; lachrymal duct, lacrimal duct, tear duct
any of several small ducts that carry tears from the lacrimal glands; nasolacrimal duct
a duct that carries tears from the lacrimal sac to the nasal cavity; Haversian canal
any of the many tiny canals that contain blood vessels and connective tissue and that form a network in bone; hepatic duct
the duct that drains bile from the liver; canalis inguinalis, inguinal canal
oblique passage through the lower abdominal wall; in males it is the passage through which the testes descend into the scrotum and it contains the spermatic cord; in females it transmits the round ligament of the uterus; bile duct, common bile duct
a duct formed by the hepatic and cystic ducts; opens into the duodenum; pancreatic duct
a duct connecting the pancreas with the intestine; lymph vessel, lymphatic vessel
a vascular duct that carries lymph which is eventually added to the venous blood circulation; salivary duct
a duct through which saliva passes from the salivary gland into the mouth; Sylvian aqueduct, aqueductus cerebri, cerebral aqueduct
a canal connecting the third and fourth ventricles; ureter
either of a pair of thick-walled tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder; urethra
duct through which urine is discharged in most mammals and which serves as the male genital duct; canalis cervicis uteri, cervical canal
a spindle-shaped canal extending from the uterus to the vagina; umbilical, umbilical cord
membranous duct connecting the fetus with the placenta; vagina
the lower part of the female reproductive tract; a moist canal in female mammals extending from the labia minora to the uterus; epididymis
a convoluted tubule in each testis; carries sperm to vas deferens; ductus deferens, vas deferens
a duct that carries spermatozoa from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct; seminal duct
the efferent duct of the testis in man; ejaculatory duct
a part of the seminal duct formed by the duct from the seminal vesicle and the vas deferens; passes through the prostate gland; cartilaginous tube
a duct with cartilaginous walls; bronchiole
any of the smallest bronchial ducts; ending in alveoli; GI tract, alimentary canal, alimentary tract, digestive tract, digestive tube, gastrointestinal tract
tubular passage of mucous membrane and muscle extending about 8.3 meters from mouth to anus; functions in digestion and elimination; lactiferous duct
ducts of the mammary gland that carry milk to the nipple; sinusoid
tiny endothelium-lined passages for blood in the tissue of an organ; carpal tunnel
a passageway in the wrist through which nerves and the flexor muscles of the hands pass; root canal
the passage in the root of a tooth through which its nerve and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity; esophagus, gorge, gullet, oesophagus
the passage between the pharynx and the stomach; epicardia
the short part of the esophagus extending downward from the diaphragm to the stomach; fauces
the passage between the back of the mouth and the pharynx; fistula, sinus
an abnormal passage leading from a suppurating cavity to the body surface; shunt
a passage by which a bodily fluid (especially blood) is diverted from one channel to another; bypass
a surgically created shunt (usually around a damaged part); portacaval shunt
shunt that is created surgically between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava so that blood from the abdominal organs can bypass the liver