paso

paso — noun

1. a major city in far western Texas, located on the Rio Grande directly across fro

1.nounB1
Definition

a major city in far western Texas, located on the Rio Grande directly across from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and known for its desert landscape and strong Mexican-American heritage.

Example

Gabriela's family moved to Paso when her father got a job at the university hospital.

used as destination with 'move to'

Paso has become one of the safest big cities in the southwestern United States.

city as grammatical subject

Common collocations
  • live in Paso
  • move to Paso
  • visit Paso
  • from Paso
  • based in Paso

Usage Note

Paso is a shortened form of the full city name El Paso. In formal writing, the full name El Paso is preferred, but Paso alone is commonly used in informal speech and regional news. The name comes from Spanish el paso meaning 'the pass'.

Common Mistakes

I flew into Pasco, Texas last night.
I flew into Paso, Texas last night.
Paso (El Paso) and Pasco (a city in Washington state) are different places.

Word family

  • El Paso
    nounB1
  • El Pasoan
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Paso is the short form of El Paso, a major Texas border city. While El Paso is the full official name, Paso alone is widely understood locally and in informal writing. Ciudad Juárez is its sister city just across the Rio Grande in Mexico — the two are often mentioned together but are distinct nations. San Antonio is another large Texas city, but it lies inland, far from the border, and lacks the binational character of Paso. Las Cruces is a smaller city about 40 miles north in New Mexico; it shares Paso's desert environment but has a much smaller population. Use Paso when referring informally to El Paso itself; use the full El Paso in formal or international contexts.

El PasoCiudad JuárezSan AntonioLas Cruces

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Paso resident
  • Paso airport
  • Paso border
  • Paso desert
  • Paso sunsets

Phrases

  • based in Paso
  • moved to Paso
  • grew up in Paso
  • live in Paso

Prepositions

  • in Paso
  • to Paso
  • from Paso
  • near Paso
  • outside Paso

Etymology

SpanishEnglish

The name Paso comes from the Spanish city name El Paso, which means 'the pass' — referring to a mountain pass through the Rocky Mountains where the Rio Grande cuts a gap. Spanish explorers named the area El Paso del Norte ('the pass of the north') in the 16th century, and the shorter form Paso is still used informally today.