ago

American  

[uh-goh] / əˈgoʊ /

adjective

1. gone; gone by; past (usually preceded by a noun).

   five days ago.

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adverb

1. in past time; in the past.

   All this happened long ago.

ago British  

/ əˈɡəʊ /

adverb

1. in the past

   five years ago

   long ago

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Usage

What does ago mean? Ago means in the past.It’s always used in combination with other words that indicate exactly or about how much time has passed since something happened—never by itself (you wouldn’t say That happened ago).Examples of such phrases are three weeks ago, an hour ago, five days ago, long ago, and a long time ago.Example: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ….

Etymology

Origin of ago

before 1000; Middle English ago ( n ), Old English āgān, past participle of āgān to go by, pass, equivalent to ā- a- ³ + gān to go ¹

Example Sentences

Twenty years ago, I stumbled across a book that would change the course of my career.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

Centuries ago, they emerged on seaside courses as natural pits and hollows caused by erosion and by animals sheltering from the wind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Instead, it formed in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way's largest companion galaxy, and later migrated into our galaxy billions of years ago.

From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2026

Immanuel made headlines a few years ago for claiming that many of America’s health problems are linked to alien DNA and sperm from demons.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

A full ten years ago, way back in 1927, Willem had written in his doctoral thesis, done in Germany, that a terrible evil was taking root in that land.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom