past

/pɑːst/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Canada/past/

past noun: the period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future. Also the simple past and past participle of pass.

Noun

past (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
- The past, at least, is secure.1830, Daniel Webster, a speech
Synonyms:

foretime
The past tense.

Adjective

past (comparative more past, superlative most past)

Having already happened; in the past; finished.
- past glories
- The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
Synonyms:

bygone
Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago.
- That had been, what, three years past?1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam, published 2011, page 538
- Some four decades past, as a boy, I had a chance encounter and conversation with the late W.A. Poucher [...].2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley, published 2009, page 20
Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous.
- during the past year
- Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in The Guardian
Synonyms:

foregone
Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state.
- past tense

Adverb

past (comparative more past, superlative most past)

In a direction that passes.
- I watched him walk past.
Synonyms:

by

Preposition

past

Beyond in place or quantity.
- the room past mine
- count past twenty
Any number of minutes after the last hour.
- What's the time? - It's now quarter past twelve midday (or 12.15pm) -O,K., we'll stop at half (past) twelve
- But they were stunned when Glen Johnson's error let in Peter Odemwingie to fire past Pepe Reina on 75 minutes.2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport
Antonyms:

to
No longer capable of.
- I'm past caring what he thinks of me.
Having recovered or moved on from (a traumatic experience, etc.).
Passing by, especially without stopping or being delayed.
- Ignore them, we'll play past them.
- Please don't drive past the fruit stand, I want to stop there.

Also used as

past is also the simple past and past participle of pass.

past meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

past in Hindi

period of time that has already happened: अतीत atīt, माज़ी māzī, गुज़श्ता guzašta
(grammar) past tense: भूतकाल bhūtkāl, भूत काल bhūt kāl, माज़ी māzī

past in Tamil

கடந்த காலம், கடந்தகாலம்

past in Marathi

भूतकाळ

past in Urdu

period of time that has already happened: ماضی māzī, گُذَشْتَہ guzaśta
(grammar) past tense: ماضی māzī

More languagesFewer languages

past in Bengali: অতীত otit, অতীত কাল otit kal
past in Telugu: పూర్వం pūrvaṁ, గతం gataṁ, గతించిన gatiñcina, జరిగిన jarigina
past in Malayalam: ഭൂതകാലം, ഭൂതകാലങ്ങൾ
past in Kannada: ಭೂತಕಾಲ
past in Punjabi: ਅਤੀਤ
past in Gujarati: ભૂતકાળ, ભૂતકાળનો
past in Odia: ଅତୀତ, ଅତୀତର
past in Nepali: विगत, विगतको, विगतकाल
past in Pashto: تېر ter, ماضي māzí, ګزشته guzaštá
past in Tagalog: nakaraan, naganap, pangnagdaan
past in Arabic: مَاضٍ māḍin, الْمَاضِي al-māḍī, فِعْل مَاضٍ fiʕl māḍin, الْفِعْل الْمَاضِي al-fiʕl al-māḍī
past in Malay: masa lalu, masa lampau
past in Indonesian: masa lalu, kala lampau
past in Thai: อดีต à-dìit, อดีตกาล à-dìit-dtà-gaan
past in Vietnamese: quá khứ, thời quá khứ, thì quá khứ
past in Myanmar: ရှေး hre:, အထက် a.htak, အတိတ် a.tit, ယခင် ya.hkang

Examples of past in a sentence

The present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed.1860, Richard Chenevix Trench, On the English Language, Past and Present:
The Mesozoic landscape of southeastern Utah can tell us much about the past, and it's one of the most intriguing and beautiful landscapes on Earth.2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:

All 40 example sentences with past

Synonyms of past

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of past

Forms of past

Noun
plural	pasts
Adjective
comparative	more past
superlative	most past
Adverb
comparative	more past
superlative	most past

Plural of past: pasts

Origin of past

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

Words formed from past

Phrases with past

117 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with past

2 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about past

What does past mean?: Past means the period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
What is past in Hindi?: Past in Hindi is अतीत (atīt), माज़ी (māzī), गुज़श्ता (guzašta). See Past meaning in Hindi.
How do you use past in a sentence?: The present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed.
What part of speech is past?: Past can be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or a preposition.
How do you pronounce past?: Past is pronounced /pɑːst/ (UK).
What is the plural of past?: The plural of past is pasts.

Words near past in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-past.wav, en-us-past.ogg.

Cite this entry: “past.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.