past

Use past in a sentence

adjective

The definition of past is former or is something that has already happened.
An example of past is someone's ex-boyfriend.

noun

The past is what has already happened.
An example of the past is yesterday.

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"past." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST>.

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past. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST

past

Rare pass

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

the time that has gone by; days, months, or years gone by
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
Gram.
1. the past tense
2. a verb form in this tense

beyond in time; later than: five past four
beyond in space; farther on than
Obs. beyond in amount or degree; more than
beyond the extent, power, limits, scope, etc. of: past belief

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

past Idioms

not put it past someone

to judge that someone is not incapable of engaging in some specified action

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"past." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST>.

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past. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST

past

adjective

No longer current; gone by; over: His youth is past.
Having existed or occurred in an earlier time; bygone: past events; in years past.
a. Earlier than the present time; ago: 40 years past.
b. Just gone by or elapsed: in the past few days.
Having served formerly in a given capacity, especially an official one: a past president; a past inmate of a cell.
Grammar Of, relating to, or being a verb tense or form used to express an action or condition prior to the time it is expressed.

noun

The time before the present.
a. Previous background, career, experiences, and activities: an elderly person with a distinguished past.
b. A former period of someone's life kept secret or thought to be shameful: a family with a checkered past.
Grammar
a. The past tense.
b. A verb form in the past tense.

adverb

So as to pass by or go beyond: He waved as he walked past.

preposition

Beyond in time; later than or after: past midnight; a quarter past two.
Beyond in position; farther than: The house is a mile past the first stoplight. They walked past the memorial in silence.
a. Beyond the power, scope, extent, or influence of: The problem is past the point of resolution.
b. Beyond in development or appropriateness: The child is past drinking from a bottle. You're past sucking your thumb, so don't do it.
Beyond the number or amount of: The child couldn't count past 20. See Usage Note at pass.

Origin of past

Middle English from past participle of passen to pass ; see pass .

Related Forms:

past′ness
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"past." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST>.

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past. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST

past

See also antiquity; future; history; memory; origins.

aboriginality the condition of being first in a place and of having a relatively simple nature. —aboriginal, n., adj. antediluvianism adherence to or fondness for ancient things or customs. —antediluvian, n., adj. antiquarianism interest in the culture of antiquity, especially that of classical Greece and Rome. —antiquary, antiquarian, n. —antiquarian, adj. archaeolatry devotion to archaism. —archaeolater, n. —archaeolatrous, adj. archaism an inclination toward old-fashioned things, speech, etc. Also archaicism. —archaist, n. —archaic, adj. chronographer a person who records time or the events that have occurred in time. chronography Obsolete, the recording or study of past events. medievalism strong fondness or admiration for the culture, mores, etc, of the Middle Ages. —medievalist, n. —medievalistic, adj. palaetiology paletiology. paleology, palaeology the study of antiquities. —paleologist, palaeologist, n. —paleologic, palaeologic, paleological, palaeological, adj. paleopathology Medicine. the study of diseases from former times as found in fossils and mummified remains. paletiology, palaetiology an explanation of events of the past through the laws of causation. —paletiologist, palaetiologist, n. —paletiological, palaetiological, adj. papyrology the study of papyrus manuscripts. —papyrologist, n. —papyrological, adj. philarchaist Obsolete, one devoted to the archaic. —philarchaic, adj.

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"past." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 May 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST>.

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past. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PAST

Noun

(plural pasts)

The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
a book about a time machine that can transport people back into the past
(grammar) The past tense.

Adjective

(comparative more past, superlative most past)

Having already happened; in the past; finished. [from 14th c.]
past glories
(postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago. [from 15th c.]
Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous. [from 15th c.]
during the past year
(grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state. [from 18th c.]
past tense

Adverb

(comparative more past, superlative most past)

in a direction that passes
I watched him walk past

Preposition

beyond in place, quantity or time
the room past mine
count past twenty
past midnight

Usage notes

The preposition past is used to tell the time. The time 5:05 is said as five past five. 5:10 as ten past five. 5:15 as quarter past five. 5:20 as twenty past five. 5:25 as twenty-five past five. 5:30 as half past five. If we are aware of the approximate time, we can just use e.g. five past, ten past etc. See the example below.
I thought it was about six o'clock, but it was actually ten past.
Compare with to (five to, ten to, quarter to, twenty to, twenty-five to)
See also: o'clock

Anagrams