Showing results for "past"

• a variation of past tense.

past

American  

[past] / pæst /

adjective

1. gone by or elapsed in time.

   It was a bad time, but it's all past now.

2. of, having existed in, or having occurred during a time previous to the present; bygone.

   the past glories of the Incas.

3. gone by just before the present time; just passed.

   during the past year.

4. ago.

   six days past.

5. having formerly been or served as; previous; earlier.

   three past presidents of the club.

6. Grammar. designating a tense, or other verb formation or construction, that refers to events or states in time gone by.

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noun

• pasts
  plural

1. the time gone by.

   He could remember events far back in the past.

2. the history of a person, nation, etc..

   our country's glorious past.

3. what has existed or has happened at some earlier time.

   Try to forget the past, now that your troubles are over.

4. the events, phenomena, conditions, etc., that characterized an earlier historical period.

   That hat is something out of the past.

5. an earlier period of a person's life, career, etc., that is thought to be of a shameful or embarrassing nature.

   When he left prison, he put his past behind him.

6. Grammar. past tense.

adverb

1. so as to pass by or beyond; by.

   The troops marched past.

preposition

1. beyond in time; later than; after.

   past noon;

   half past six.

2. beyond in space or position; farther on than.

   the house just past the church.

3. in a direction so as to pass by or go beyond.

   We went past the house by mistake.

4. beyond in amount, number, etc..

   past the maximum age for enlisting in the army.

5. beyond the reach, scope, influence, or power of.

   He is past hope of recovery.

past British  

/ pɑːst /

adjective

1. completed, finished, and no longer in existence

   past happiness

2. denoting or belonging to all or a segment of the time that has elapsed at the present moment

   the past history of the world

3. denoting a specific unit of time that immediately precedes the present one

   the past month

4. (prenominal) denoting a person who has held and relinquished an office or position; former

   a past president

5. grammar denoting any of various tenses of verbs that are used in describing actions, events, or states that have been begun or completed at the time of utterance Compare aorist imperfect perfect

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noun

1. the period of time or a segment of it that has elapsed

   forget the past

2. the history, experience, or background of a nation, person, etc

   a soldier with a distinguished past

3. an earlier period of someone's life, esp one that contains events kept secret or regarded as disreputable

4. grammar

   1. a past tense

   2. a verb in a past tense

adverb

1. at a specified or unspecified time before the present; ago

   three years past

2. on or onwards

   I greeted him but he just walked past

preposition

1. beyond in time

   it's past midnight

2. beyond in place or position

   the library is past the church

3. moving beyond; in a direction that passes

   he walked past me

4. beyond or above the reach, limit, or scope of

   his foolishness is past comprehension

5. beyond or above in number or amount

   to count past ten

6. informal unable to perform the tasks one could do when one was younger

7. to consider someone capable of (the action specified)

past Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing past

• live in (the past)
• not put something past someone

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Usage

The past participle of pass is sometimes wrongly spelt past: the time for recriminations has passed (not past )

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pasts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of past

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English, variant spelling of passed, past participle of pass

Explanation

Past events have already happened — if it happened an Ice Age ago, a century ago, or even a minute ago, it's in the past. They say the past is history and it's true. If you have ever been accused of "living in the past," you cling to what was instead of reveling in what is. If you hear that a person or a rare object in an antique store "has a past," get ready for a colorful story. As an adjective, past describes what is no longer current, like the past president of a club or past fashion craze — it's over: its time has passed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

past pasts

He took a pass from Hirving Lozano in the center of the box and drilling a right-footed shot past New England keeper Matt Turner for his first Galaxy goal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

The final act in the ring was to sweep past Flora Pili to cement her legacy in Ireland and beyond, bowing out as a three-time and two-weight undisputed champion.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

"I think young people in the village and, actually, myself, aren't as strong-spirited as in the past... People were purer," she said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

Prepayments have been climbing over the past few years and now nearly 20% of patient’s bills are paid ahead of time, according to Kodiak Solutions, a provider of technology and data services to hospitals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

A boat that resembles an army tank, complete with caterpillar tracks and a periscope, slides past us on the left, putting us dead last.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

But instead of gossiping about who’s dating whom, collaborators batted around their pasts and infused the darkly comedic anthology series with themes of samsara and the Jungian Shadow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Some female cast members we spoke to told us they had not been informed about their partners' criminal pasts when they were matched.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

But gone too is a sense that we understand each other’s pasts, and Nicole’s understanding of Birdie shatters into a mess of devotion and anger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

Every family has secrets, and every child must reckon with their parents’ pasts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

We’ve been so busy trying to rewrite our own pasts, we’ve blighted their present.

From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• earlier
• early
• late
• old
• preceding
• previous
• prior
• recent