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pas

American  
[pah] / pɑ /

noun

plural

pas

  1. a step or series of steps in ballet.

  2. right of precedence.

pas 1 British  
/ pɑ, pɑː /

noun

  1. a dance step or movement, esp in ballet

  2. rare the right to precede; precedence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
PA's 2 British  

plural noun

  1. mountaineering a type of rock boot

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
PAS 3 British  

abbreviation

  1. physician-assisted suicide: a practice in which a terminally-ill person requests a medical practitioner to administer a lethal dose of medication

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pas

1695–1705; < French < Latin passus. See pace 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When a nameless secretary drops a sheaf of papers, Kornev’s response to help is instinctive, yet we cringe at the careless faux pas he commits in this unfeeling society.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The first reason is the data collection faux pas of 2020.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

On this week’s Slate Plus exclusive, Timothée Chalamet enters the pas de deux between an Oscar-nominated actor and a public itching for a villain.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026

Mr. Kerrigan’s faux pas could have been worse: He could have told his daughter that she was “one in a million”—which, in this country, means there are 347 others just like her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

“Mama, Mama, ne pleure pas. Ce n’est pas de la faute de Grand-mère, Mama.”

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.