past.
The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
Meaning & usage
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
The past tense.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English passed, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
Having already happened; in the past; finished.
past glories
Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago.
Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous.
during the past year
Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state.
past tense
Where this word comes from
From Middle English passed, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
In a direction that passes.
I watched him walk past.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English passed, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
Beyond in place or quantity.
the room past mine
count past twenty
Any number of minutes after the last hour.
What's the time? - It's now quarter past twelve midday (or 12.15pm) -O,K., we'll stop at half (past) twelve
No longer capable of.
I'm past caring what he thinks of me.
Having recovered or moved on from (a traumatic experience, etc.).
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.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English passed, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
simple past and past participle of pass
Where this word comes from
From Middle English passed, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.