1
a
: ago
12 years past
started working on this project 10 years past
b
: just gone or elapsed
for the past few months
I spoke with him this past weekend.
2
: having existed or taken place in a period before the present : bygone
In past winters, we have had much more snow.
3
: of, relating to, or constituting a verb tense that is expressive of elapsed time and that in English is usually formed by internal vowel change (as in sang) or by the addition of a suffix (as in laughed)
4
: having served as a specified officer in an organization
past president
past champions
1
a
: time gone by
b
: something that happened or was done in the past
regret the past
2
a
: the past tense of a language
b
: a verb form in the past tense
3
: a past life, history, or course of action
especially
: one that is kept secret
: so as to reach and go beyond a point near at hand
drove past
Synonyms
Examples of past in a Sentence
Adjective
She was hired based on her past experience in sales.
a past editor of the newspaper
Preposition
The office is two blocks past the intersection.
Turn left just past the stairs.
We drove past the house.
I must have walked right past her.
He looked past me to the next customer.
Noun
Past, present, and future are all linked together.
The past of “walk” is “walked.”
Adverb
Several weeks went past before we heard from her.
Recent Examples on the Web
Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
Wind your way around the spiral track over obstacle bridges, through waterfall tunnels, past signal bells, and down the mountain into the mine.
—Laura Lu, Ms, Parents, 21 Apr. 2024
The Giants’ starting pitcher has failed to make it out of the fifth inning in either of their past two games.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
These past couple of hours have been just so nourishing for me.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
Like a story over campfire, embellished without fact-checking so many times that there’s an astonishingly large segment of the basketball-watching world seems to believe that Doncic simply owns the Clippers and that Dallas won one of these past two meetings, if not both.
—Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 19 Apr. 2024
The health inequities found in the report are not new and are rooted in past and current local, state and federal policies, the report said.
—Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
In past years, Loverin said, the Metropolis library has relied on state grants to close shortfalls or fund capital improvements.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
As in past years, viewers will also be able to tune in to the official ACM Red Carpet on Prime Video, the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch and Amazon Live.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
The Panthers will need to find ways to get past him to get results from their strong play.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2024
The plan announced by the mayor estimates the 1,000-bed shelter would cost some $30 million a year to operate, pushing the cost past $1.1 billion over the length of the lease.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Couture said he’s spoken with a few NHL players who have had osteitis pubis about getting past the injury.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Now, as domestic grosses push past $40 million Saturday, the war thriller seems to be in a solid place.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024
With the Ducks knocking off the Golden Knights on Thursday, all the Kings needed to slip past the reigning Stanley Cup champions and claim the third spot in the Pacific Division was one point.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
Officials pushed past strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors to adopt the proposal.
—Matthew Brown, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
Rodrygo raced onto a wonderful through ball from Vinícius Jr. and kept his composure to nudge his effort past Stefan Ortega in the City net.
—Ben Church, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
The Editors, National Review, 23 Apr. 2024
As the general election campaign against Hillary Clinton began, a woman from Mr. Trump’s past began exploring the sale of her story.
—Michael Rothfeld, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Alam’s troubled past, meanwhile, did not factor into the department’s ruling in his case.
—Detroit Free Press, 21 Apr. 2024
By the time that bit of fantasy circulated on social media, romanticizing the far-off past had become a mid-pandemic, post-insurrection cultural pattern.
—Amanda Montell, Twin Cities, 21 Apr. 2024
The killer nicknamed Smiley sat in the last row of an Alaska Airlines jet, barreling toward Los Angeles and his past.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
He is subsequently caught up by his past and plunged into a state affair.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
Trying to rescue her, Frank finds his past catching up with him.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
These museums all teach the diverse histories of their peoples, from the distant past to the present, to Native and non-Native visitors.
—Kathleen Duval, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
With Easter falling in March, April is a little lighter in chocolate than years past.
—Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2024
Johnson’s relationship with son Colt — who starred on the franchise in seasons past — had been temporarily severed due to ongoing disagreements.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Just about every fan-favorite side character from years past makes an appearance to help pass judgment on the four.
—Avi Selk, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The film is based on the star wished upon by many Disney characters past and follows Asha (Ariana DeBose), a girl from the magical kingdom of Rosas, who wish gets answered.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Speaking of which, one of the highlights is a stunning grand entrance hallway that harks back to The OWO’s storied past.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
His first tour with the E Street Band since 2017 began last February in Tampa, Fl., with fans still grumbling over a dynamic ticket pricing fiasco, and was criticized because the set lists were too rigid compared to years past.
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 5 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Yarrow, who has taken a lot of heat for using game-farm animals in his past work, is quick to point out that film and TV have been much bigger supporters of the industry.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
Wind your way around the spiral track over obstacle bridges, through waterfall tunnels, past signal bells, and down the mountain into the mine.
—Laura Lu, Ms, Parents, 21 Apr. 2024
The Giants’ starting pitcher has failed to make it out of the fifth inning in either of their past two games.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
These past couple of hours have been just so nourishing for me.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
Like a story over campfire, embellished without fact-checking so many times that there’s an astonishingly large segment of the basketball-watching world seems to believe that Doncic simply owns the Clippers and that Dallas won one of these past two meetings, if not both.
—Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 19 Apr. 2024
The health inequities found in the report are not new and are rooted in past and current local, state and federal policies, the report said.
—Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
In past years, Loverin said, the Metropolis library has relied on state grants to close shortfalls or fund capital improvements.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
As in past years, viewers will also be able to tune in to the official ACM Red Carpet on Prime Video, the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch and Amazon Live.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Preposition
But an appeal is underway on whether the district attorney should be disqualified from the case that a defense lawyer told USA Today might push the trial back until well past the November election.
—USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
The Panthers will need to find ways to get past him to get results from their strong play.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2024
The plan announced by the mayor estimates the 1,000-bed shelter would cost some $30 million a year to operate, pushing the cost past $1.1 billion over the length of the lease.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Couture said he’s spoken with a few NHL players who have had osteitis pubis about getting past the injury.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024
Now, as domestic grosses push past $40 million Saturday, the war thriller seems to be in a solid place.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024
With the Ducks knocking off the Golden Knights on Thursday, all the Kings needed to slip past the reigning Stanley Cup champions and claim the third spot in the Pacific Division was one point.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
Officials pushed past strong opposition from private industry and Republican governors to adopt the proposal.
—Matthew Brown, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
Rodrygo raced onto a wonderful through ball from Vinícius Jr. and kept his composure to nudge his effort past Stefan Ortega in the City net.
—Ben Church, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Noun
Senate Democrats seem to have learned nothing from their own past overreaches.
—The Editors, National Review, 23 Apr. 2024
As the general election campaign against Hillary Clinton began, a woman from Mr. Trump’s past began exploring the sale of her story.
—Michael Rothfeld, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Alam’s troubled past, meanwhile, did not factor into the department’s ruling in his case.
—Detroit Free Press, 21 Apr. 2024
By the time that bit of fantasy circulated on social media, romanticizing the far-off past had become a mid-pandemic, post-insurrection cultural pattern.
—Amanda Montell, Twin Cities, 21 Apr. 2024
The killer nicknamed Smiley sat in the last row of an Alaska Airlines jet, barreling toward Los Angeles and his past.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
He is subsequently caught up by his past and plunged into a state affair.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
Trying to rescue her, Frank finds his past catching up with him.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
These museums all teach the diverse histories of their peoples, from the distant past to the present, to Native and non-Native visitors.
—Kathleen Duval, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Collaborative playlists are the modern day, digital version of the mixtape and burned CD that generations past used to share great tunes with the people in their lives.
—USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
With Easter falling in March, April is a little lighter in chocolate than years past.
—Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2024
Johnson’s relationship with son Colt — who starred on the franchise in seasons past — had been temporarily severed due to ongoing disagreements.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Just about every fan-favorite side character from years past makes an appearance to help pass judgment on the four.
—Avi Selk, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The film is based on the star wished upon by many Disney characters past and follows Asha (Ariana DeBose), a girl from the magical kingdom of Rosas, who wish gets answered.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Speaking of which, one of the highlights is a stunning grand entrance hallway that harks back to The OWO’s storied past.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024
His first tour with the E Street Band since 2017 began last February in Tampa, Fl., with fans still grumbling over a dynamic ticket pricing fiasco, and was criticized because the set lists were too rigid compared to years past.
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 5 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'past.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near past
Cite this Entry
“Past.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/past. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
past
1 of 4 adjective1
a
: ago
10 years past
b
: just gone by
for the past few months
2
: having existed or taken place in a period before the present
past customs
3
: of, relating to, or being a verb tense that in English is usually formed by internal vowel change (as in sang) or by the addition of a suffix (as in laughed) and that expresses time gone by
4
: no longer serving
a past president
past
2 of 4 preposition1
: beyond entry 2 sense 1
past 50 years old
half past ten
2
: in a course by and then beyond
the road goes past the house
past
3 of 4 noun1
: a former time or event
2
a
b
: a verb form in the past tense
3
: a past life or history
especially
: a past life that is secret or questionable
past
4 of 4 adverb
: so as to pass by
a deer ran past
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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