passion project

American

[pash-uhn proj-ekt] / ˈpæʃ ən ˌprɒdʒ ɛkt /

noun

a personally fulfilling activity or undertaking pursued in one’s leisure time for pleasure, personal growth, emotional satisfaction, creative expression, etc.

Etymology

Origin of passion project

First recorded in 2005–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Nussdorf admits with a grin that haters aren’t wrong to call his store a “nepo baby passion project.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He started it in 2019 as a "passion project" while a medical student, experimenting with Nashville-style chicken recipes in his cousin's kitchen, long before the giants came to the British market.

From BBC

Mark Joseph Stern: It is weird, but it’s not surprising, because this has been something of a passion project for Kavanaugh since well before he joined the Supreme Court.

From Slate

When the time does come to walk away from the tour, Jones thinks she would take a "passion project" before deciding on the next stage of her life.

From BBC

But Berkshire isn’t the passion project of a 95-year-old investing legend anymore.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023