bygone

American  

[bahy-gawn, -gon] / ˈbaɪˌgɔn, -ˌgɒn /

adjective

1. past; gone by; earlier; former.

   The faded photograph brought memories of bygone days.

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noun

1. Usually bygones. that which is past.

   Let's not talk of bygones.

idioms

1. let bygones be bygones, to decide to forget past disagreements; become reconciled.

   Let's let bygones be bygones and be friends again.

bygone British  

/ ˈbaɪˌɡɒn /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) past; former

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noun

1. (often plural) a past occurrence

2. (often plural) an artefact, implement, etc, of former domestic or industrial use, now often collected for interest

3. to agree to forget past quarrels

Etymology

Origin of bygone

1375–1425; late Middle English (north) by-gane; see gone, by

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Explanation

The adjective bygone is good for describing long-ago times. Your grandparents might enjoy looking at old photo albums and reminiscing about bygone days. A bygone era happened in the distant past, and a bygone sweetheart is an early romantic interest remembered by someone who's since lived a long life. You're most likely to see the phrase "bygone days" being used in a nostalgic way. If someone says, "Let bygones be bygones," they want to make up for long-ago slights and arguments, leaving them in the past where they belong.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bygone

"Caleb resurrected a statistical technique from a bygone era," said co-author Jacques Gauthier, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Yale and curator-in-charge for vertebrate paleontology at the Peabody Museum.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

“The ornamentation and the craftsmanship represent a bygone era.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

But his recapitulations of Vyvyan’s battles with the taxman, of bygone court cases and of late-20th-century documentaries and biopics could have been done at half the length.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Harry Styles’ queer residency, and other spectacles like it, are what is left until a new bygone era arrives in time.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

They already knew a great deal about the prehistoric creatures that roamed the Serengeti in bygone years.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

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