passage

passage — noun

1. a long, narrow space such as a hallway or covered path that lets people move fro

1.名詞B2
釋義

a long, narrow space such as a hallway or covered path that lets people move from one room, area, or building to another.

例句

A dark passage led from the kitchen to the stone cellar.

passage + lead from ... to ...

Visitors waited in the hospital passage outside Dr. Wu's office.

同義詞
  • corridor

    the most common formal word for a building route with rooms off it

  • hallway

    common in everyday speech, especially in American English

  • walkway

    broader and often used for paths people walk along

文法句型

a passage from + place + to + place

a narrow / covered passage

用法筆記

Usually names a built route inside or between buildings. Distinguish from noun sense 5, which names the act of going through somewhere rather than the place you go through.

常見錯誤

We walked along the pass to the kitchen.
We walked along the passage to the kitchen.
💡a pass is usually a mountain route or a ticket, not an indoor connecting way.

2. a short section taken from a book, speech, or piece of music.

2.名詞B2
釋義

a short section taken from a book, speech, or piece of music.

例句

The violin passage near the end is hard to play cleanly.

music use: violin passage

Our teacher asked Mina to read the final passage aloud.

read a passage aloud

同義詞
  • section

    a broad everyday word for one part of a larger work

  • excerpt

    often suggests a piece chosen and taken out for special attention

  • extract

    common in publishing and exams for a selected piece of text

文法句型

a passage from + book / speech

a violin / piano passage

用法筆記

Often followed by 'from' when you quote writing, and often modified by an instrument name in music. Distinguish from noun sense 3, which is about time going by, not a section of a work.

常見錯誤

Read this sentence from the book' (when you mean a longer part).
Read this passage from the book.
💡'passage' is used for a section longer than a single sentence.

3. the steady going by of time, especially when its effects are noticed later.

3.名詞C1
釋義

the steady going by of time, especially when its effects are noticed later.

例句

The passage of time softened her anger after the trial.

fixed phrase: the passage of time

Wrinkles showed the passage of years on Grandpa's face.

同義詞
  • passing

    the closest everyday alternative

  • flow

    more figurative and often more poetic

  • lapse

    more formal and often used for a period that has gone by

文法句型

the passage of time

with the passage of time

the passage of + years / months / weeks

用法筆記

Almost always appears in fixed phrases such as 'the passage of time' or 'with the passage of years'. More formal than simply saying 'time passed'.

常見錯誤

Passage time made the house look older.
The passage of time made the house look older.
💡this sense usually appears in the fixed pattern 'the passage of time'.

4. a tube or open space in the body that carries air, food, liquid, or waste from o

4.名詞
釋義

a tube or open space in the body that carries air, food, liquid, or waste from one part to another.

例句

Swelling in one nasal passage made it hard for Owen to breathe.

common anatomy phrase: nasal passage

The scan showed a narrow passage carrying food down to the stomach.

同義詞
  • channel

    a broad word for a space something moves through

  • duct

    more technical and often used in medicine or biology

  • tube

    emphasizes the shape more than the function

文法句型

a nasal passage

air passages

用法筆記

Often modified by a body part or by what moves through it, as in 'nasal passage' or 'air passages'. Distinguish from sense 1, which is a route in a building or outside space.

5. movement through or past a place by people, vehicles, air, water, or other thing

5.名詞C2
釋義

movement through or past a place by people, vehicles, air, water, or other things.

例句

Passage through the mountain tunnel stopped after the storm.

pattern: passage through + place

Free passage of air keeps the greenhouse cool in summer.

collocation: free passage of air

同義詞
  • crossing

    often focuses on going from one side to the other

  • transit

    more formal and often used for movement through a system or area

  • flow

    best when something moves in a steady stream, such as air or water

反義詞

文法句型

passage through + place

passage of + people / vehicles / air / water

free / safe passage

用法筆記

Common with 'through', 'across', 'of', and 'for', especially about people, vehicles, air, light, or water moving past a point. Distinguish from noun senses 7 to 9, which name a journey or ticketed travel rather than movement through a place.

常見錯誤

The passage to Taipei took two hours.
The trip to Taipei took two hours.
💡this sense is about moving through a place, not the whole journey to a destination.

6. the stage when a bill or similar measure is formally accepted, especially by a p

6.名詞C1
釋義

the stage when a bill or similar measure is formally accepted, especially by a parliament, and becomes law.

例句

The bill's passage followed six hours of debate.

legislative use: passage of a bill

Crowds cheered outside after the passage of the climate law.

同義詞
  • approval

    broader and not limited to laws or parliaments

  • enactment

    formal legal term for making a law official

  • adoption

    often used for plans, policies, or formal measures

反義詞
  • rejection

    a formal decision not to accept the measure

  • defeat

    used when a bill fails in a vote

文法句型

passage of + bill / law

secure passage

delay passage

用法筆記

Usually used about bills, laws, or other measures in government and legal reporting. Distinguish from noun sense 5, which is about movement through space, and noun sense 3, which is about time going by.

常見錯誤

The passage discussed the tax bill yesterday.
Parliament passed the tax bill yesterday.
💡this noun means the bill's approval, not the discussion itself.

7. travel from one place to another, especially to get away from danger or trouble.

7.名詞
釋義

travel from one place to another, especially to get away from danger or trouble.

例句

At night, smugglers arranged passage for families leaving the burning town.

arrange passage for + person

The charity found passage out of the valley before winter snow.

find passage out of + place

同義詞
  • escape

    focuses more strongly on getting free from danger

  • evacuation

    more official and often organized by authorities

  • transport

    broader and can describe ordinary travel without danger

文法句型

arrange passage for + person

seek / find passage out of + place

用法筆記

Common after verbs like 'arrange', 'find', and 'seek', often with 'out of', 'from', or 'to'. Distinguish from noun sense 8, which names one particular journey, usually by sea.

8. a trip across the sea, usually made by ship between two ports or coasts.

8.名詞
釋義

a trip across the sea, usually made by ship between two ports or coasts.

例句

The passage from Lisbon to Rio lasted nearly three weeks.

passage from ... to ...

Rough weather made our passage across the channel very slow.

passage across + sea

同義詞
  • voyage

    the closest word and especially common for sea travel

  • crossing

    often used for one movement across water from one side to another

  • trip

    the broad everyday word without the sea emphasis

文法句型

passage from + place + to + place

passage across + sea / channel

用法筆記

Often followed by 'from ... to ...' or 'across ...'. Distinguish from noun sense 7, which focuses on escape, and from noun sense 5, which is the act of moving through somewhere.

9. in the phrase 'work your passage', a ship trip you earn by doing jobs on board i

9.名詞
釋義

in the phrase 'work your passage', a ship trip you earn by doing jobs on board instead of buying a ticket.

例句

At eighteen, Noor worked her passage to Australia as a kitchen helper.

fixed phrase: work your passage

After losing his money, Tomas worked his passage on a cargo ship.

同義詞
  • voyage

    names the trip itself but does not include the idea of working for it

  • fare

    means the money paid for a journey, not the journey earned by work

  • berth

    can mean a place on a ship or a job on one, but not this exact arrangement

文法句型

work your passage

work your passage to + place

用法筆記

Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'work your passage'. The subject is the traveler, and the work is done on the ship as payment for the trip.

常見錯誤

She worked her ticket to Australia.
She worked her passage to Australia.
💡this fixed phrase means earning the sea trip by working on board.