past

noun

The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.

(grammar) The past tense.

adjective

Having already happened; in the past; finished.

Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous.

(grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state.

(postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago.

adverb

In a direction that passes.

Roots

passuspass- · Latin · step, pace

Synonyms for past

yesteryearn preteritn previousadj foretime agoadv yoren oldenadj lastadj recentadj overn byadv priorn onetimeadj preteritiveadj erstwhileadj elapsedadj

Synonyms & related words for past

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of past — including yesteryear, preterit, previous, foretime, ago, yore. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to past

Explore words related to past — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include agone, langsyne, bygones, years, afteryears, earlier, ultimo, decade. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for past

Common synonyms for past include yesteryear, preterit, previous, foretime, ago, yore, olden, last — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does past come from?

The word past breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root pass-, from Latin passus (“step, pace”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.