/ pɑːst; NAmE pæst/ adjective , noun , preposition , adverb
■ adjective
1.
gone by in time :
in past years / centuries / ages
in times past
The time for discussion is past.
2.
[ only before noun ] gone by recently; just ended :
I haven't seen much of her in the past few weeks.
The past month has been really busy at work.
3.
[ only before noun ] belonging to an earlier time :
past events
From past experience I'd say he'd probably forgotten the time.
past and present students of the college
Let's forget about who was more to blame—it's all past history .
4.
[ only before noun ] ( grammar ) connected with the form of a verb used to express actions in the past
■ noun
1.
the past [ sing. ] the time that has gone by; things that happened in an earlier time :
I used to go there often in the past.
the recent / distant past
She looked back on the past without regret.
Writing letters seems to be a thing of the past .
2.
[ C ] a person's past life or career :
We don't know anything about his past.
They say she has a 'past' (= bad things in her past life that she wishes to keep secret) .
3.
the past [ sing. ] ( grammar ) = past tense
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IDIOMS
see blast noun , distant , live (I)
■ preposition
1.
( NAmE also after ) later than sth :
half past two
ten (minutes) past six
There's a bus at twenty minutes past the hour (= at 1.20, 2.20, etc.) .
We arrived at two o'clock and left at ten past (= ten minutes past two) .
It was past midnight when we got home.
2.
on or to the other side of sb/sth :
We live in the house just past the church.
He hurried past them without stopping.
He just walked straight past us!
3.
above or further than a particular point or stage :
Unemployment is now past the 3 million mark.
The flowers are past their best.
He's past his prime.
She's long past retirement age.
Honestly, I'm past caring what happens (= I can no longer be bothered to care) .
•
IDIOMS
- past it
■ adverb
1.
from one side of sth to the other :
I called out to him as he ran past.
2.
used to describe time passing
SYN by :
A week went past and nothing had changed.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : variant of passed , past participle of pass .