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past definition

past (past, päst)

intransitive verb, transitive verb

Rare pass

adjective

  1. gone by; ended; over our past troubles
  2. of a former time; bygone
  3. immediately preceding; just gone by the past week
  4. having served formerly a past chairman
  5. Gram. indicating an action completed or in progress at a former time, or a state or condition in existence at a former time

noun

  1. the time that has gone by; days, months, or years gone by
  2. what has happened; the history, former life, or experiences of a person, group, or institution: often used to indicate a hidden or questionable past a woman with a past
  3. Gram.
    1. the past tense
    2. a verb form in this tense

  1. beyond in time; later than five past four
  2. beyond in space; farther on than
  3. Obsolete beyond in amount or degree; more than
  4. beyond the extent, power, limits, scope, etc. of past belief

adverb

to and beyond a point in time or space; by; so as to pass
past Idioms

not put it past someone

to believe someone is likely (to do something specified)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms past idiom

past Synonyms

past

modif.

  1. Having occurred previously

    former, preceding, gone by, foregoing, elapsed, anterior, antecedent, prior.

  2. No longer serving

    ex-, retired, earlier; see preceding.

not put it past someone

suspect, accuse, expect; see anticipate 1, fear 1, guess 2.


past

n.

  1. Past time

    antiquity, long ago, past times, old times, years ago, good old days, good old times, ancient times, former times, days gone by, auld lang syne, yore, days of old, days of yore, yesterday.

    Antonyms future*, the present, tomorrow. *

  2. Past events

    knowledge, happenings, events; see history.

  3. Concealed experiences

    secret affair, love affair, amour, hidden past, bronzed past, scarlet past, scarlet letter, scarlet A.


past

prep.

through, farther than, behind; see beyond.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

past Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • reconstruct: Add some other sources and give them an insight into the way that ' real ' historians reconstruct the past.

Adjective modifier

  • distant: Naturally gloves originate in the dim and distant past.

Modifies a noun

  • decade: The annual mean levels have changed little in the past decade.

Used with adjective complement

  • fly: At least a dozen remain on the sea, along with 2 imm m Eiders, and an Egyptian Goose flew past.

Noun used with modifier

  • eternity: He has set His love upon us in eternity past, and He will love us throughout eternity future.
past usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

past quotes

Yes, I have inherited the past because I have acknowledged it at last† And, now that I have come to understand it, I no longer need to look back.

-Ackroyd, Peter

There is always something rather absurd about the past.

-Beerbohm, Sir (Henry) Max(imilian)

I want a future that will live up to my past.

-Bennett, Alan

past quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"past." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/past>

APA Style

past. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/past

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