I’ve never been entirely clear on this. When people talk about making a pass at someone, what exactly does that refer to? I know it means making your affection known to the other person, but does the term refer to all methods of doing so?
Hitting on them. Unsubtly saying or making clear the equivalent of “I’m interested, and available, are you?”
I suppose it does refer to all methods of doing so.
“Hey, babe, wanna fuck?”
Or, if you want to be slightly less overt,
“Hey, babe, wanna have sex?”
Silentgoldfish, would you call asking someone out (in a polite manner) “making a pass”? Asking someone out would be expressing interest, but to me at least, wouldn’t be a pass. IMHO, a pass is a bit more overtly sexual. It is hard to describe, but to me, something like sliding a hand over the back and butt would be a pass, and so would “hey, wanna go make out?” would be, too, but not “Would you like to go to dinner sometime?”
It’s like football, you throw something sexual at someone… Maybe they catch it & you score 
So would you characterize it as one step further than asking out to a date, or just different situations? When someone says “he made a pass at me,” would that indicate interest in sex rather than a relationship?
I would only say someone made a pass at me if they did or said something that indicated they were interested in sex. Maybe that person would be interested in a relationship as well, but definitely sex.