past

[past, pahst]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR past ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

gone by or elapsed in time: It was a bad time, but it's all past now.

of, having existed in, or having occurred during a time previous to the present; bygone: the past glories of the Incas.

gone by just before the present time; just passed: during the past year.

ago: six days past.

having formerly been or served as; previous; earlier: three past presidents of the club.

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

noun

the time gone by: He could remember events far back in the past.

the history of a person, nation, etc.: our country's glorious past.

what has existed or has happened at some earlier time: Try to forget the past, now that your troubles are over.

the events, phenomena, conditions, etc., that characterized an earlier historical period: That hat is something out of the past.

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.

Grammar.

the past tense, as he ate, he smoked.
another verb formation or construction with past meaning.
a form in the past tense.

adverb

so as to pass by or beyond; by: The troops marched past.

preposition

beyond in time; later than; after: past noon; half past six.

beyond in space or position; farther on than: the house just past the church.

in a direction so as to pass by or go beyond: We went past the house by mistake.

beyond in amount, number, etc.: past the maximum age for enlisting in the army.

beyond the reach, scope, influence, or power of: He is past hope of recovery.

Origin of past

1250–1300; Middle English; variant spelling of passed, past participle of pass

Can be confusedpassed past paste

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for past

prior, completed, spent, former, previous, early, old, preceding, earlier, late, recent, history, anterior, antecedent, over, precedent, latter, ancient, bygone, yesteryear

Examples from the Web for past

Contemporary Examples of past

In their past calls for attacks on Western targets, AQAP has focused on putting bombs on planes, not revenge attacks.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre
Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef
January 8, 2015
In the middle of all of that past suffering and present-day conflict, this Cosby bomb was dropped.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers
Stereo Williams
January 8, 2015
I gotta say—I think this past year was pretty bad for music.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
Many of those who have become cops in New York seem to have ceased to address such minor offenses over the past few days.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown
Michael Daly
January 7, 2015
RELATED: NYPD Salutes Murdered Officer Wenjian Liu (Photos) Police motorcycles rumbled past.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss
Michael Daly
January 5, 2015

Historical Examples of past

He could not avoid contrasting this behaviour with his past preaching.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
But the first words he uttered showed a total unconsciousness of past events.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Plato perceived that the contemplative maiden was busy with memories of the past.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
I could see she was annoyed and a little worried, because he was past taking notice.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
“I am afraid he is past ransom,” said the youth, shaking his head.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for past

past

adjective

completed, finished, and no longer in existencepast happiness

denoting or belonging to all or a segment of the time that has elapsed at the present momentthe past history of the world

denoting a specific unit of time that immediately precedes the present onethe past month

(prenominal) denoting a person who has held and relinquished an office or position; formera past president

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 utteranceCompare aorist, imperfect (def. 4), perfect (def. 8)

noun

the past the period of time or a segment of it that has elapsedforget the past

the history, experience, or background of a nation, person, etca soldier with a distinguished past

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

grammar

a past tense
a verb in a past tense

adverb

at a specified or unspecified time before the present; agothree years past

on or onwardsI greeted him but he just walked past

preposition

beyond in timeit's past midnight

beyond in place or positionthe library is past the church

moving beyond; in a direction that passeshe walked past me

beyond or above the reach, limit, or scope ofhis foolishness is past comprehension

beyond or above in number or amountto count past ten

past it informal unable to perform the tasks one could do when one was younger

not put it past someone to consider someone capable of (the action specified)

Word Origin for past

C14: from passed, past participle of pass

usage

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for past

adj.

c.1300, "done with, over," from past participle of passen "go by" (see pass (v.)). Past participle is recorded from 1798; past tense from 1813.

"times gone by," 1580s, from past (adj.).

Idioms and Phrases with past

past

In addition to the idioms beginning with past

past master
past one's prime

also see:

live in (the past)
not put something past someone