past tense

noun

: a verb tense expressing action or state in or as if in the past:

a

: a verb tense expressive of elapsed time (such as wrote in "on arriving I wrote a letter")

b

: a verb tense expressing action or state in progress or continuance or habitually done or customarily occurring at a past time (such as was writing in "I was writing while he dictated" or loved in "their sons loved fishing")

Examples of past tense in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Defendant referred to victim in past tense, detective testifies Cousins’ status as a possible suspect was strengthened by his inadvertent language missteps in his first interview with a Fort Worth Police Department Homicide Unit detective, the jury learned on Tuesday. —Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2025

Today’s Wordle Etymology Chose is the simple past tense of choose. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025

And anything else known about my personal life is usually past tense. —Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 23 Nov. 2024

The force’s role as a neutral and transparent coordinator and communicator between Israel and Syria effectively decreased the chances of escalation during past tense incidents. —Bilal Y. Saab, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1729, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for past tense

• commence
• condense
• defence
• defense
• dispense
• expense
• fourpence
• halfpence
• immense
• incense
• intense
• missense

Kids Definition

past tense

noun

: a verb tense expressing action or state in the past