Fail
Fail verb - Judge unacceptable.
Usage example: The teacher failed six students
Pass
Pass verb - Go successfully through a test or a selection process.
Usage example: She passed the new Jersey Bar Exam and can practice law now
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Similarly, some classes don't give a standard grade (numerical or letter) and simply have a pass or fail grade.
Source: All or Nothing -
It's when a character seems to be facing a pass or fail situation, a do or die type of test, and then fate hands them a third option: fail in a manner so bizarre it's impressive.
Source: Epic Fail - Then there's the Achievement Rate percentage system, which is still influenced by note judgements, but does not go down, and is used to determine pass/fail status instead.
Source: Scoring Points
Cite this Source
Pass and Fail. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/pass
Fail & Pass. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/pass>.
Pass or Fail. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/pass.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fail" and "pass" have occurred on timeline