passé

UK: /pɑːseɪ/ US: /pæˈseɪ/ ,(pa sā′; for 4 also Fr. pä sā′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pas•sé /pæˈseɪ/   adj. 

1. Foreign Terms old-fashioned;
   out-of-date;
   outmoded.

See -pass-¹.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

passé / ˈpɑːseɪ ˈpɑseɪ pɑse/ adjective

1. out-of-date: passé ideas
2. past the prime; faded: a passé society beauty
   Also (fem): passée

Etymology: 18th Century: from French, past participle of passer to pass

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

passe  (päs), n. [French.]

1. Foreign Terms the numbers 19 through 36 in roulette. Cf. manque. 

• literally, passing, pass

pas•sé  (pa sā′; for 4 also Fr. pä sā′), adj., n., pl. pas•sés 

(pa sāz′; Fr. pä sā′). 

adj. 

1. Foreign Terms no longer fashionable, in wide use, etc.;
   out-of-date;
   outmoded:
   There were many photographs of passé fashions. I thought hand-cranked pencil sharpeners were passé.
2. Foreign Terms past:
   time passé.
3. Foreign Terms past the prime of one's life.

n. 

4. Music and Dance [Ballet.] a movement in which one leg passes behind or in front of the other.

• French, past participle of passer to pass
• 1765–75

Synonyms

• 1. old-fashioned, démodé, quaint.