1
a
: ago
12 years past
started working on this project 10 years past
b
: just gone or elapsed
for the past few months
I spoke with him this past weekend.
2
: having existed or taken place in a period before the present : bygone
In past winters, we have had much more snow.
3
: of, relating to, or constituting a verb tense that is expressive of elapsed time and that in English is usually formed by internal vowel change (as in sang) or by the addition of a suffix (as in laughed)
4
: having served as a specified officer in an organization
past president
past champions
1
a
: time gone by
b
: something that happened or was done in the past
regret the past
2
a
: the past tense of a language
b
: a verb form in the past tense
3
: a past life, history, or course of action
especially
: one that is kept secret
: so as to reach and go beyond a point near at hand
drove past
Synonyms
Examples of past in a Sentence
Adjective
She was hired based on her past experience in sales.
a past editor of the newspaper
Preposition
The office is two blocks past the intersection.
Turn left just past the stairs.
We drove past the house.
I must have walked right past her.
He looked past me to the next customer.
Noun
Past, present, and future are all linked together.
The past of “walk” is “walked.”
Adverb
Several weeks went past before we heard from her.
Recent Examples on the Web
David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
Several senators questioned Gabbard's past opposition to government surveillance programs under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the U.S. government to collect electronic communications of non-Americans outside the country without a warrant.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 4 Feb. 2025
Aaron Portzline, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
President Donald Trump has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a nomination that squeezed past the Senate Finance Committee on February 4 and is now poised for a full-floor Senate vote.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2025
There’s no need for the developer to completely move on from its past when the foundation remains timeless.
—Ashley Bardhan, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2025
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2025
The wind gusted and birds chattered and the occasional car buzzed past on the street beyond his southern fenceline, but the rest was silent.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for past 
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show current usage.
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Adjective
However, past rate hikes were supposed to factor in risks such as wildfires and other natural disasters that are prevalent in different areas in California.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
Several senators questioned Gabbard's past opposition to government surveillance programs under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the U.S. government to collect electronic communications of non-Americans outside the country without a warrant.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 4 Feb. 2025
Preposition
Then, in a flash, Johnson spun around to his left and fired the puck off his backhand toward Buffalo goaltender James Reimer, the puck sailing past Reimer’s mask and finding the far corner of the net.
—Aaron Portzline, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
President Donald Trump has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a nomination that squeezed past the Senate Finance Committee on February 4 and is now poised for a full-floor Senate vote.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Noun
Gascón acknowledged her past post disparaging George Floyd, whose 2020 murder prompted a national reckoning on policing.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2025
There’s no need for the developer to completely move on from its past when the foundation remains timeless.
—Ashley Bardhan, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2025
Adverb
When the show began Bad Bunny watched poker-faced as former girlfriend Kendall Jenner strutted past, bespectacled and suited in look 3.
Until today, Calvin Klein, the brand, had left a gap in the New York Fashion Week schedule for almost seven years.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2025
The wind gusted and birds chattered and the occasional car buzzed past on the street beyond his southern fenceline, but the rest was silent.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for past
Dictionary Entries Near past
Cite this Entry
“Past.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/past. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
past
1 of 4 adjective1
a
: ago
10 years past
b
: just gone by
for the past few months
2
: having existed or taken place in a period before the present
past customs
3
: of, relating to, or being a verb tense that in English is usually formed by internal vowel change (as in sang) or by the addition of a suffix (as in laughed) and that expresses time gone by
4
: no longer serving
a past president
past
2 of 4 preposition1
: beyond entry 2 sense 1
past 50 years old
half past ten
2
: in a course by and then beyond
the road goes past the house
past
3 of 4 noun1
: a former time or event
2
a
b
: a verb form in the past tense
3
: a past life or history
especially
: a past life that is secret or questionable
past
4 of 4 adverb
: so as to pass by
a deer ran past
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