1 [count] : a long, narrow space that connects one place to another
▪ They escaped through a secret underground passage. [=passageway] ▪ (Brit) Her office is at the end of the passage. [=hallway] 2 [count] : a narrow space that people or things can move through
▪ We squeezed through a narrow passage between the rocks. ▪ Special ships clear passages through the ice. ▪ The medicine makes breathing easier by opening nasal passages. 3 : an act of moving or passing from one place or state to another [noncount] ▪ They controlled the passage of goods through their territory. ▪ He guaranteed us safe passage. [=he promised that we could safely travel through the area] ▪ the passage of food through the digestive system ▪ the passage of air into and out of the lungs ▪ the passage from life to death ▪ the passage of the seasons ▪ He left after the passage of a few hours. ▪ With the passage of time, the number of children suffering with the disease has decreased dramatically. [singular] ▪ a child's passage into adulthood — see also rite of passage 4 [count] a : a usually short section of a book, poem, speech, etc.
▪ He quoted a passage from the Bible. ▪ The book's main theme is reflected in the following passage. ▪ long descriptive passages
b : a usually short section of a piece of music
▪ complex musical passages 5 : an act of officially approving a bill, law, etc. [noncount] ▪ The passage [=enactment] of this law will save lives. ▪ the passage of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ▪ government leaders who are determined to get passage of their bills [singular] ▪ a bill's passage into law 6 old-fashioned a [count] : a voyage or journey usually on a boat
▪ a long ocean passage
b [noncount] : the right to travel on a boat, airplane, etc.
▪ They booked passage on a ship/train bound for Mexico.