past

adj.

1. No longer current; gone by; over: His youth is past.
2. Having existed or occurred in an earlier time; bygone: past events; in years past.
3. 1. Earlier than the present time; ago: 40 years past.
   2. Just gone by or elapsed: in the past few days.
4. Having served formerly in a given capacity, especially an official one: a past president; a past inmate of a cell.
5. Grammar. Of, relating to, or being a verb tense or form used to express an action or condition prior to the time it is expressed.

n.

1. The time before the present.
2. 1. Previous background, career, experiences, and activities: an elderly person with a distinguished past.
   2. A former period of someone's life kept secret or thought to be shameful: a family with a checkered past.
3. Grammar.
   1. The past tense.
   2. A verb form in the past tense.

adv.
So as to pass by or go beyond: He waved as he walked past.

prep.

1. Beyond in time; later than or after: past midnight; a quarter past two.
2. Beyond in position; farther than: The house is a mile past the first stoplight. They walked past the memorial in silence.
3. 1. Beyond the power, scope, extent, or influence of: The problem is past the point of resolution.
   2. Beyond in development or appropriateness: The child is past drinking from a bottle. You're past sucking your thumb, so don't do it.
4. Beyond the number or amount of: The child couldn't count past 20. See Usage Note at pass.

[Middle English, from past participle of passen, to pass. See pass.]

adjective

1. Just gone by or elapsed: antecedent, anterior, earlier, foregoing, former, precedent, preceding, previous, prior. See time.
2. Having been such previously: erstwhile, former, late, old, once, onetime, previous, quondam, sometime, whilom. See precede/follow.

noun

1. Past events surrounding a person or thing: background, history. See happen.
2. A former period of time or of one's life: yesterday, yesteryear, yore. Idioms: bygone days, days gone by, the good old days, the old days. See time.

Idioms beginning with past:
past master
past one's prime

See also live in (the past); not put something past someone.

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adj

Definition: preceding, done
Antonyms: current, future, present

n

Definition: time gone by
Antonyms: future, present

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

That part of Eternity with some small fraction of which we have a slight and regrettable acquaintance. A moving line called the Present parts it from an imaginary period known as the Future. These two grand divisions of Eternity, of which the one is continually effacing the other, are entirely unlike. The one is dark with sorrow and disappointment, the other bright with prosperity and joy. The Past is the region of sobs, the Future is the realm of song. In the one crouches Memory, clad in sackcloth and ashes, mumbling penitential prayer; in the sunshine of the other Hope flies with a free wing, beckoning to temples of success and bowers of ease. Yet the Past is the Future of yesterday, the Future is the Past of to-morrow. They are one -- the knowledge and the dream.

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IN BRIEF: Having existed or taken place in a period before the present.

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past. — Percy Shelley (1792-1822), English romantic poet who rebelled against strictures of politics and religion.

Quotes:

"Think of your forefathers! Think of your posterity." - John Adams

"Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense." - George Ade

"It is one thing to learn about the past; it is another to wallow in it." - Kenneth Auchincloss

"One must always maintain one's connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it. To remain in touch with the past requires a love of memory. To remain in touch with the past requires a constant imaginative effort." - Gaston Bachelard

"Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time." - Francis Bacon

"There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you -- if you don't repeat it." - Pearl Bailey

See more famous quotes about Past

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - forløben
n. - fortid
prep. - forbi
adv. - ude over

idioms:

• go past    gå forbi
• not put it past    godt kunne tiltro
• past caring    ligeglad
• past hope    håbløs
• past it    ovre det
• past its sell-by date    ude over sidste salgsdato
• past master    mester
• past participle    perfektum participium, datids tillægsmåde
• past tense    datid

Nederlands (Dutch)
verleden, (de) afgelopen (week/maand etc.), vroeger(e), voorbij, langs, persoonlijke geschiedenis (m.n. negatief)

Français (French)
adj. - devant, passé, ancien, précédent
n. - (gén) passé, (Ling) passé
prep. - devant, passé, après, à plus de, plus loin que, jusqu'à
adv. - devant, passé, autrefois, jadis, il y a (suivi d'une expression de temps)

idioms:

• go past    passer devant, dépasser
• not put it past    ne pas être étonné de (l'attitude de qn)
• past caring    cesser de s'en faire
• past hope    (être) désespéré
• past it    ne plus être dans la course, au-delà, plus loin
• past its sell-by date    périmé
• past master    expert
• past participle    (Ling) participe passé
• past tense    (Ling) passé, imparfait

Deutsch (German)
prep. - nach, vorbei, vorüber, hinter
adv. - vorbei, vorüber
n. - Vergangenheit
adj. - vergangen, früher

idioms:

• go past    vorbeigehen
• not put it past    zutrauen
• past caring    jmdn. kümmert es nicht mehr
• past hope    hoffnungslos
• past it    zu alt
• past its sell-by date    aus der Mode
• past master    Meister
• past participle    Partizip Perfekt, Mittelwort der Vergangenheit
• past tense    Vergangenheit

Ελληνική (Greek)
prep. - μπροστά από, (πιο) πέρα, επέκεινα, περασμένος, μετά από
adv. - από μπροστά, (με χρόνο) μετά, περασμένα
n. - παρελθόν, τα περασμένα
adj. - περασμένος, παρελθών, παρωχημένος, πρώην, τέως, περασμένης εποχής, του παλιού καιρού

idioms:

• go past    περνώ μπροστά από
• not put it past    δεν το θεωρώ απίθανο
• past caring    δεν με νοιάζει πια
• past hope    πέρα από κάθε ελπίδα
• past it    πολύ μεγάλος για τέτοια
• past master    δεξιοτέχνης, μαέστρος, μάστορας
• past participle    (γραμμ.) μετοχή αορίστου
• past tense    (γραμμ.) αόριστος

Italiano (Italian)
passato, davanti a, oltre, al di là

idioms:

• go past    passare, andare oltre, passare oltre
• not put it past    non dimenticare
• past caring    non importa più
• past hope    senza speranza
• past it    non più all'altezza
• past master    emerito
• past participle    participio passato
• past tense    passato

Português (Portuguese)
prep. - após, além, adiante de
adv. - próximo
n. - passado (m), pretérito (m) (Gram.)
adj. - passado, acabado, anterior

idioms:

• go past    passar por
• not put it past    não duvidar
• past caring    não se importar
• past hope    sem esperança
• past it    sem condições
• past master    perito
• past participle    particípio passado
• past tense    passado

Русский (Russian)
после, мимо, прошлый, прошлое, прошедшее время

idioms:

• go past    пройти мимо
• not put it past    считать кого-либо способным
• past caring    перестать беспокоиться
• past hope    оставить надежду
• past it    выйти из этого возраста
• past master    непревзойденный мастер
• past participle    причастие прошедшего времени
• past tense    прошедшее время

Español (Spanish)
adj. - pasado, pretérito, último, que fue, pasivo
n. - el pasado, historia, pretérito, lo pasado, antecedentes
prep. - por delante de, más allá de, después de, pasado, más de , fuera de, sin, fuera de los límites
adv. - por el lado, dejando atrás, por delante

idioms:

• go past    pasar sin detenerse
• not put it past    capaz hasta de eso, no extrañarse de
• past caring    ya nos trae sin cuidado
• past hope    ya no queda esperanza alguna
• past it    ya no estar para esos trotes
• past its sell-by date    fecha de caducidad, fecha límite de venta
• past master    experto, perito, maestro en
• past participle    participio pasado
• past tense    pretérito, pasado

Svenska (Swedish)
prep. - förbi, bortom, över, efter
adv. - förbi
n. - förfluten tid, förflutet, preteritum (gram.)
adj. - förfluten

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
过去的, 结束的, 过去, 往时, 过, 超过, 通过, 经过, 越过

idioms:

• go past    走过去, 经过
• not put it past    相信某人会...
• past caring    不再在乎了
• past hope    无法再指望了
• past it    过去了
• past its sell-by date    超过有效期限
• past master    老手
• past participle    过去分词
• past tense    过去式

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 過去的, 結束的
n. - 過去, 往時
prep. - 過, 超過, 通過, 經過
adv. - 過, 越過, 經過

idioms:

• go past    走過去, 經過
• not put it past    相信某人會...
• past caring    不再在乎了
• past hope    無法再指望了
• past it    過去了
• past its sell-by date    超過有效期限
• past master    老手
• past participle    過去分詞
• past tense    過去式

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 지나간, 임기가 끝난, 노련한, 과거형의
n. - 과거, 경력, (문법) 과거 시제형
prep. - ~을 지나서, 지나쳐서, ~이상
adv. - 지나가서

idioms:

• go past    지나가다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 過去, 過ぎ去ったこと, 履歴, 過去の歴史, 過去形
adj. - 過去の, 過ぎたばかりの, 前任の
prep. - 過ぎて, 越えて, 通り越して, とすれ違って, 及ばない所に

idioms:

• go past    経過する, 行き過ぎる
• not put it past    しかねない
• past caring    過去の悩み
• past hope    見込みがない
• past it    過ぎた
• past its sell-by date    賞味期限を過ぎた
• past master    名人
• past one's prime    人生の盛りを過ぎた
• past participle    過去分詞
• past praying for    もう改心させる見込みがない
• past tense    過去形, 過去時制
• past the hour    時間を過ぎた
• run past    横を駆け抜ける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(حرف جر) وراء, عبر, ما وراء, بعد (ظرف) بالقرب, على مقربه من (الاسم) الماضي, ماض مجيد, استعلم عن (صفه) ماض, منصرم, غابر, سالف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שעבר, קודם, לא מסוגל ל-‬
n. - ‮היסטוריה, הקריירה של אדם עד כה, זמן עבר‬
prep. - ‮מעבר ל- (אפשרותו), לא מסוגל ל-‬
adv. - ‮שעבר, בעבר, אחרי, לאחר‬

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Past	past papers
past	past paper