Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - pass over

1. If someone is passed over for a job or position, they do not get the job or position and someone younger or less experienced is chosen instead. She claimed she was repeatedly passed over for promotion... They’ve been rejected, disappointed, ignored, passed over. PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P for n, be V-ed P 2. If you pass over a topic in a conversation or speech, you do not talk about it. He largely passed over the government’s record... They seem to think her crimes should be passed over in silence. PHRASAL VERB: V P n, be V-ed P