Word.ws English Dictionary

n-word pass

n-word pass is the alternative form of N-word pass.

Noun capitalized: N-word pass

N-word pass (plural N-word passes)

  1. (slang) A notional pass giving permission for a nonblack person to say the words nigga or nigger without being perceived as racist.
    • Behn jokes about the kid being just another white boy looking for an "n-word pass", but then Adam accepts a challenge by a cocky rapper looking for an Old West-type draw (the punk even calls himself Billy Pistols).2018 November 2, Rafael Motamayor, “Bodied is one of the most surprising, scorching satires of the year”, in Polygon, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022
    • I have had the N-word said to me three times and when I said, "Hey that's not OK," they replied that I have the "N-word pass," I am 1% African American, or they said that racism is over, and that is sadly not true. People today are still being treated differently because the color of their skin.2019 May 26, Matthew McClure, “End the "N-word pass"”, in The Spokesman-Review, archived from the original on 22 Oct 2022

Forms of n-word pass

pluraln-word passes
pluralN-word passes
alternative formn-word pass

Origin of n-word pass

From the fact that the word nigga is commonly used in African American Vernacular English, despite being popularly perceived as racist when used by a nonblack individual.

Questions about n-word pass

What does n-word pass mean?
N-word pass means a notional pass giving permission for a nonblack person to say the words nigga or nigger without being perceived as racist.
What is n-word pass the alternative form of?
N-word pass is the alternative form of N-word pass.
What part of speech is n-word pass?
N-word pass is a noun.
What is the plural of n-word pass?
The plural of n-word pass is n-word passes.

Words near n-word pass in the dictionary

  1. n-type
  2. n-types
  3. N-up
  4. N-V
  5. n-word
  6. n-word pass
  7. n-word passes
  8. n-words
  9. n.
  10. N. Am.
  11. N. B. C.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: n-word pass (page history and authors); N-word pass (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-N-word pass.wav.

Cite this entry: “n-word pass.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/n-word_pass. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.