past

Definitions

1. noun

   The time before now.

   Examples

   • The book is about a time machine that goes back into the past.
   • The past is gone and cannot be changed.
   ≈foretime
2. noun

   A verb form that shows something already happened.

   Examples

   • Walked is the past of walk.
   • Irregular verbs often have unusual past forms.
3. adjective

   Over and finished.

   Examples

   • Those days are past now.
   • Her glory days are past.
   ≈bygone
4. adjective

   Ago, used after a length of time.

   Examples

   • It happened, what, three years past?
   • We met four decades past.
5. adjective

   Just gone by, or last.

   Examples

   • She has been ill during the past year.
   • It is the first time in the past fifty years.
   ≈foregone
6. adjective

   Showing action that already happened.

   Examples

   • Walked is in the past tense.
   • Use the past tense when you tell a story.
7. adverb

   Going by and moving on.

   Examples

   • I watched him walk past.
   • The train rushed past without stopping.
   ≈by
8. preposition

   Beyond a place or number.

   Examples

   • The bank is just past the school.
   • Can you count past twenty?
9. preposition

   Used to tell the time, minutes after the hour.

   Examples

   • It is quarter past twelve.
   • We will stop at half past five.
   ≠to
10. preposition

    Too far along to be able to do something.

    Examples

    • I am past caring what he thinks of me.
    • She is past worrying about such small things.