To pass out is to suddenly lose consciousness. The floor arrives before you know you are falling.
Heat, blood loss, standing up too fast and drink are the usual causes, and faint is the medical word for the same thing. It works without an object. There is a completely separate sense meaning to distribute, so passing out leaflets is chiefly American where Britain says handing out. And in the armed forces, passing out means completing training, which is why there is a passing-out parade.
1phrasepass outTo lose consciousness suddenly.
“He looked as though he might pass out in the heat.”
2phrasecompleteTo complete military or police training.
“Two hundred recruits will pass out on Friday.”
Also accepted in games: faint
Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 15 of A Man Called Ove.
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