ago
Americanadjective
adverb
adverb
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
Explanation
Use ago to mean "earlier" or "in the past." Dinosaurs lived a long time ago. The adverb ago refers to a time before the present moment, sometimes in the distant past, and sometimes more recently: "She just left for her appointment ten minutes ago." When you talk about the more remote past, you might say "long ago" or "a long time ago." Ago was originally a shortened form of agone in Middle English, "departed or passed away."
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.
Kress joined Nvidia more than a decade ago as chief financial officer after holding finance roles at Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
His inspiring story of founding Nvidia as a Taiwanese immigrant at a Denny’s some three decades ago is a welcome antidote to attacks on America’s capitalist system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
Billions of years ago, water flowed through a river channel into Jezero crater, carrying sediment that gradually settled on the bottom.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
Nvidia's stock fall this week is the most significant five-day drop the company has seen since going public 27 years ago.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
I can’t believe I’m actually living inside the moment I saw a week ago.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
