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

---

PA's ² British  

plural noun

1. mountaineering a type of rock boot

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of pas

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

Example Sentences

She was quick to try to clean up her faux pas, claiming she had skipped over the section because her statement was running long, but no one believed it.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 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

These comparisons aren’t exactly nuanced but they are stark and, for most of the film, Franco just asks us to watch them move together and apart, in a strange, avoidant pas de deux.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

For centuries, appearing in public without the proper headgear was a faux pas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

I realized then that I had no more to fear concerning my faux pas in turning off their music.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole