past
English
Etymology
From Middle English, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
Pronunciation
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
- D. Webster
- The past, at least, is secure.
- Trench
- The present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed.
- (grammar) The past tense.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "past"
Translations
period of time that has already happened
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(grammar) past tense
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
Adjective
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
- Having already happened; in the past; finished. [from 14th c.]
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess:
- 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.
- past glories
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- (postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago. [from 15th c.]
- 1999, George RR Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam 2011, page 538:
- That had been, what, three years past?
- 2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley 2009, page 20:
- Some four decades past, as a boy, I had a chance encounter and conversation with the late W.A. Poucher [...].
- 1999, George RR Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam 2011, page 538:
- Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous. [from 15th c.]
- 2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in The Guardian:
- 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.
- during the past year
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- (grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state. [from 18th c.]
- past tense
Translations
having already happened; in the past
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ago — see ago
of a period of time: having just gone by
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grammar: expressing action that has already happened
Adverb
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
- in a direction that passes
- Synonym: by
- I watched him walk past
- (Should we move(+) this sense?) 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.
Translations
Preposition
past
Usage notes
- The preposition past is used to tell the time. The time 5:05 is said as five past five. 5:10 as ten past five. 5:15 as quarter past five. 5:20 as twenty past five. 5:25 as twenty-five past five. 5:30 as half past five. If we are aware of the approximate time, we can just use e.g. five past, ten past etc. See the example below.
- I thought it was about six o'clock, but it was actually ten past.
- Compare with to (five to, ten to, quarter to, twenty to, twenty-five to)
- See also: o'clock
Derived terms
Translations
beyond in place
Related terms
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɑst
- IPA(key): /pɑst/
Verb
past
- second- and third-person singular present indicative of passen
- (archaic) plural imperative of passen
Slovene
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpáːst/
- Tonal orthography: pȃst
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