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past

UK/pɑːst/ US/past/ very common
noun (3) adjective (3) adverb (1)

noun

1.

the time that has elapsed

  • “forget the past”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

a earlier period in someone''s life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret)

  • “reporters dug into the candidate”
3.

a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past

Synonyms

adjective

1.

earlier than the present time; no longer current

  • “time past”
  • “his youth is past”
  • “this past Thursday”
  • “the past year”
Antonyms
Similar
2.

of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office

  • “a retiring member of the board”
Synonyms
Similar
3.

a verb tense or other construction referring to events or states that existed at some previous time

  • “past participle”

adverb

1.

so as to pass a given point

  • “every hour a train goes past”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English passed, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.

Phrases

  • blast from the past
  • eternity past
  • in the past
  • past anterior
  • past continuous
  • past historic
  • past participle
  • past perfect
  • past the end of one's nose
  • past the point of
  • the past
  • whistle past

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.