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
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2025
How was casting in Minneapolis in comparison to past seasons?
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 16 Feb. 2025
Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
A couple driving on Evansville Avenue in Meriden around 11 a.m. on Saturday reportedly spotted something grey in a pile of snow just past the Markham Airport on the north side of the road next to the large field of solar panels.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 Feb. 2025
Jackie Snow, Quartz, 18 Feb. 2025
Can Greg, a murderer by proxy whose past likely holds other dark secrets, escape what the recording Sarah Catherine Hook’s Piper listens to, also in the premiere, describes as the prison of identity?
—Judy Berman, TIME, 17 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 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Herro has been at the center of trade rumors for players like James Harden, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard in past years, but was never ultimately dealt.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2025
How was casting in Minneapolis in comparison to past seasons?
—Emily Longeretta, Variety, 16 Feb. 2025
Preposition
Eley and other local residents slipped past the police officers trying to quell tensions and grabbed a flag from the fleeing demonstrators, stomping on it and ultimately setting it aflame.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
A couple driving on Evansville Avenue in Meriden around 11 a.m. on Saturday reportedly spotted something grey in a pile of snow just past the Markham Airport on the north side of the road next to the large field of solar panels.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 Feb. 2025
Noun
The answer may determine whether supersonic travel remains a nostalgic memory of aviation’s past — or finally becomes part of its future.
📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief
Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 18 Feb. 2025
Can Greg, a murderer by proxy whose past likely holds other dark secrets, escape what the recording Sarah Catherine Hook’s Piper listens to, also in the premiere, describes as the prison of identity?
—Judy Berman, TIME, 17 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 21 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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