the past
noun
1
: an earlier time : the time before the present
happy memories of the past
In the past, there was a company luncheon every month.
2
grammar
: a verb tense that is used to refer to the past : the past tense
The past of "walk" is "walked."
Examples of the past in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The map has changed multiple times over the past month, and at one point was removed from the website entirely.
—
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 14 May 2026
Read Variety‘s cover story about the long road to Season 50 — featuring interviews with players and producers from the past and present — here.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 14 May 2026
That’s a big step forward for the character who’s sometimes been a little self-centered in the past.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
OpenAI, Google and Perplexity have rolled out research tools and agents over the past year that threaten to disrupt how people shop online.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for the past
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 14 May 2026
Read Variety‘s cover story about the long road to Season 50 — featuring interviews with players and producers from the past and present — here.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 14 May 2026
That’s a big step forward for the character who’s sometimes been a little self-centered in the past.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
OpenAI, Google and Perplexity have rolled out research tools and agents over the past year that threaten to disrupt how people shop online.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for the past
Cite this Entry
“The past.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20past. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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