Past Definition
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English
Pronunciation
- (UK) enPR: päst, IPA: /pɑːst/, SAMPA: /pA:st/
- (US) IPA: /pæst/
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Audio (US) (file) - Homophones: passed
- Rhymes: -ɑːst
Etymology
From Middle English, past participle of passen (“to pass", "to go by”)
Noun
past (plural pasts)
- The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
- (grammar) The past tense.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "past"See also
Adjective
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
- Having already happened; in the past; finished.
- past glories
- Relating to the past.
- past tense
- (of a period of time) the one before this one
- during the past year
Translations
Having already happened; in the pastAdverb
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
- in a direction that passes
- I watched him walk past
Translations
in a direction that passes
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Preposition
past
- beyond in place, quantity or time
- the room past mine
- count past twenty
- past Midnight
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.
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- I thought it was about six o'clock, but it was actually ten past.
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- Compare with to (five to, ten to, quarter to, twenty to, twenty-five to)
- See also: o'clock
Translations
beyond in placeRelated terms
- past master
- past it
Statistics
Anagrams
Czech
Noun
past f
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA: /pɑst/
Verb
past
- second- and third-person singular present indicative of passen.
- plural imperative of passen.
Anagrams
Slovene
Noun
past f
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