Past
Pronunciation
- UK enPR: päst, IPA: /pÉ‘Ëst/
- US IPA: /pæst/
- Homophones: passed
- Rhymes: -æst, -É‘Ëst
Origin
From Middle English, past participle of passen ("to pass, to go by"), whence Modern English pass.
Full definition of past
Noun
past
(plural pasts)- The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.a book about a time machine that can transport people back into the past
- D. WebsterThe past, at least, is secure.
- TrenchThe present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed.
- (grammar) The past tense.
Derived terms
Adjective
past
- Having already happened; in the past; finished. from 14th c.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 7, 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.
- past glories
- (postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago. from 15th c.
- 1999, George RR Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam 2011, p. 538:That had been, what, three years past?
- 2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley 2009, p. 20:Some four decades past, as a boy, I had a chance encounter and conversation with the late W.A. Poucher ....
- Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous. from 15th c.
- 2012, April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election, 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.
- during the past year
- (grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state. from 18th c.past tense
Adverb
past
- in a direction that passesI watched him walk past
Preposition
- beyond in place, quantity or timethe room past minecount past twentypast midnight
- 2012, April 22, Sam Sheringham, Liverpool 0-1 West Brom, But they were stunned when Glen Johnson's error let in Peter Odemwingie to fire past Pepe Reina on 75 minutes.
Usage notes
The preposition past is used to tell the time. The time 5:05 is said as five past five. 5:10 as ten past five. 5:15 as quarter past five. 5:20 as twenty past five. 5:25 as twenty-five past five. 5:30 as half past five. If we are aware of the approximate time, we can just use e.g. five past, ten past etc. See the example below.
I thought it was about six o'clock, but it was actually ten past.
Compare with to (five to, ten to, quarter to, twenty to, twenty-five to)
See also: o'clock