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past

 - 4 dictionary results

past

  [past, pahst]
Use past in a Sentence
–adjective
1. gone by or elapsed in time: It was a bad time, but it's all past now.
2. of, having existed in, or having occurred during a time previous to the present; bygone: the past glories of the Incas.
3. gone by just before the present time; just passed: during the past year.
4. ago: six days past.
5. having formerly been or served as; previous; earlier: three past presidents of the club.
6. Grammar. designating a tense, or other verb formation or construction, that refers to events or states in time gone by.
–noun
7. the time gone by: He could remember events far back in the past.
8. the history of a person, nation, etc.: our country's glorious past.
9. what has existed or has happened at some earlier time: Try to forget the past, now that your troubles are over.
10. the events, phenomena, conditions, etc., that characterized an earlier historical period: That hat is something out of the past.
11. an earlier period of a person's life, career, etc., that is thought to be of a shameful or embarrassing nature: When he left prison, he put his past behind him.
12. Grammar.
a. the past tense, as he ate, he smoked.
b. another verb formation or construction with past meaning.
c. a form in the past tense.
–adverb
13. so as to pass by or beyond; by: The troops marched past.
–preposition
14. beyond in time; later than; after: past noon; half past six.
15. beyond in space or position; farther on than: the house just past the church.
16. in a direction so as to pass by or go beyond: We went past the house by mistake.
17. beyond in amount, number, etc.: past the maximum age for enlisting in the army.
18. beyond the reach, scope, influence, or power of: He is past hope of recovery.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME; var. sp. of passed, ptp. of pass
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To past
past   (pāst)   
adj.  

  1. No longer current; gone by; over: His youth is past.

  2. Having existed or occurred in an earlier time; bygone: past events; in years past.

    1. Earlier than the present time; ago: 40 years past.

    2. Just gone by or elapsed: in the past few days.

  4. Having served formerly in a given capacity, especially an official one: a past president; a past inmate of a cell.

  5. Grammar Of, relating to, or being a verb tense or form used to express an action or condition prior to the time it is expressed.

n.  

  1. The time before the present.

    1. Previous background, career, experiences, and activities: an elderly person with a distinguished past.

    2. A former period of someone's life kept secret or thought to be shameful: a family with a checkered past.

    3. The past tense.

    4. A verb form in the past tense.

  3. Grammar

    1. The past tense.

    2. A verb form in the past tense.

adv.  So as to pass by or go beyond: He waved as he walked past.
prep.  

  1. Beyond in time; later than or after: past midnight; a quarter past two.

  2. Beyond in position; farther than: The house is a mile past the first stoplight. They walked past the memorial in silence.

    1. Beyond the power, scope, extent, or influence of: The problem is past the point of resolution.

    2. Beyond in development or appropriateness: The child is past drinking from a bottle. You're past sucking your thumb, so don't do it.

  4. Beyond the number or amount of: The child couldn't count past 20. See Usage Note at pass.


[Middle English, from past participle of passen, to pass; see pass.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

past  (adj.)
c.1300, "done with, over," from pp. of passen "go by" (see pass (v.)). The noun meaning "times gone by" is first attested 1590, from the adj.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

past

In addition to the idioms beginning with past, also see live in (the past); not put something past someone.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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