past 1 of 3

noun

Definition of pastnext
as in history
the events or experience of former times we spent a pleasant evening recalling the past together

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

past

2 of 3

adjective

ˈpast How to pronounce past (audio)
as in former
having been such at some previous time a past editor of the newspaper

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

past

3 of 3

preposition

1
as in over
on or to the farther side of I drive past the school every day

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in after
subsequent to in time or order it's ten minutes past six o'clock

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of past
Noun
Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are each 33 years old with a litany of injuries in their past. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 That urgency has marked Holden’s prolific output—especially the thrilling first installment of his Supreme Magnetic series in 2025 and 2022’s Joe Frog—as the Harlem rapper uses his street-hustling past to paint an autobiographical portrait. — Matthew Ritchie, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
Adjective
Goor and Del Tredici are gearing up to debut their next NBC sitcom, a single-camera workplace comedy starring Jake Johnson as a cynical detective working at a past-its-prime private investigator agency in Hollywood. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026 Part 4 brings back the family, friends and police characters fans know from past seasons and even Pellegrini. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Preposition
Star-crossed lovers sing right past each other on the duet from Bryan’s new Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs EP. — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 16 Oct. 2026 Those pieces are tiny and brittle, with the consistency of cigar ash, and every swing past the sun leaves more behind. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for past
Recent Examples of Synonyms for past
  1. history
  2. former
  3. over
  4. after
  5. old
  6. beyond
  7. other
  8. erstwhile
Noun
  • The worst security failure in the country’s history raised troubling questions about whether the financial lifeline helped to sustain Hamas’s grip on power and, in turn, enabled it to carry out the assault.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Speed is now free, which means, for the first time in history, speed is worthless.
    — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of history
Adjective
  • Advertisement The following day, in a public conversation moderated by renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour, President Nataša Pirc Musar of Slovenia, former Irish President Mary Robinson and I reflected on the choices before humanity.
    — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Following the simultaneous departures of former chiefs Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) at the end of last season, long-time fans might have expected another familiar face to take the helm.
    — Max Gao, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of former
Preposition
  • Congress weighs competing proposals Anthropic’s draft enters a crowded legislative debate over how the United States should regulate frontier AI.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Conwell averaged 17 points per game and dished out 18 assists to four turnovers over the last three preseason games.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of over
Preposition
  • The new concealer was originally launched as the Wide Awake Brightening Concealer alongside the Wide Awake Brightening Neutralizer, but ran into controversy just days after launch.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Rays batters struck out 13 times after combining for 14 in the first two games.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of after
Adjective
  • The pickup’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, was taken into custody but was later released after police consulted with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
    — Maggie Vespa, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Melanie Lawrence, a 68-year-old independent, worries about wells going dry in her area near Willcox, where the groundwater grew so depleted that the land started to crack.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of old
Preposition
  • But beyond just the legal battles and headlines, speakers on Sunday also focused on the more personal impact for people one year later.
    — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Yet by the time their reputation had carried beyond the M6, both men had moved on.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of beyond
Adjective
  • Levine did, however, receive a letter signed by over a dozen former Israeli security, intelligence and other officials, including former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, former Mossad director Tamir Pardo and former Shin Bet director Ami Ayalon.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Ten other people, ages 5 to 68, were also hit and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Police Capt.
    — Maggie Vespa, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of other
Adjective
  • Below’s detour to Little Pot Rock wraps up quickly with little explanation for the erstwhile hag’s seemingly flesh-and-blood existence on the island, but something spooky’s going on with her for sure.
    — Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The Project’s ranks now include about 80 fishermen manning 15 boats who also support the tagging and research of their erstwhile prey (their work has led to the recent world-first tagging of 10 tiger sharks in Indonesian waters).
    — Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of erstwhile

Phrases Containing past

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Cite this Entry

“Past.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/past. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about past

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