Etimology
From Middle English, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.
noun
past (plural pasts)
The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
(grammar) The past tense.
Examples
a book about a time machine that can transport people back into the past
The past, at least, is secure.
The present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed.
The Mesozoic landscape of southeastern Utah can tell us much about the past, and it's one of the most intriguing and beautiful landscapes on Earth.
Related words
synonyms
(period of time that has already happened): foretime, yestertide; see also Thesaurus:the past
adjective
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
Having already happened; in the past; finished. [from 14th c.]
(postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago. [from 15th c.]
Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous. [from 15th c.]
(grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state. [from 18th c.]
Examples
past glories
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.
That had been, what, three years past?
Some four decades past, as a boy, I had a chance encounter and conversation with the late W.A. Poucher [...].
during the past year
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.
past tense
Related words
synonyms
(having already happened): bygone, foregone; see also Thesaurus:past
(having just gone by): foregone, preceding, used-to-be; see also Thesaurus:former
adverb
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
In a direction that passes.
Examples
Synonym: by
I watched him walk past
preposition
past
Beyond in place or quantity
(time) Any number of minutes after the last hour
No longer capable of.
Having recovered or moved on from (a traumatic experience, etc.).
Passing by, especially without stopping or being delayed.
Examples
the room past mine
count past twenty
What's the time? - It's now quarter past twelve midday .
Antonym: to
But they were stunned when Glen Johnson's error let in Peter Odemwingie to fire past Pepe Reina on 75 minutes.
I'm past caring what he thinks of me.
Ignore them, we'll play past them.
Please don't drive past the fruit stand, I want to stop there.
verb
past
(obsolete) simple past and past participle of pass
Examples
Great Tuscane dames, as she their towns past by, / Wisht her their daughter-in-law, but frustrately.