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   past

   /pɑːst/

   adjective

   • 1. gone by in time and no longer existing: "the danger is now past" Similar gone byoverover and done withno moregonedonedead and buriedfinishedendedforgottenbygoneformeroldof oldearlierlong-agoancientdefunctextinctliterary:of yoreoldenforegone
   • ▪ belonging to a former time: "they made a study of the reasons why past attempts had failed" Similar previousformerpriorforegoinglateerstwhileas wasone-timesometimeex-formal:quondamarchaic:whilomOpposite presentfuture
   • ▪ (of a specified period of time) occurring before and leading up to the time of speaking or writing: "the band has changed over the past twelve months" Similar lastrecentprecedinglatter
   • ▪ (of a tense) expressing an action that has happened or a state that previously existed.

   noun

   • 1. the time before the moment of speaking or writing: "she found it hard to make ends meet in the past"
   • ▪ the history of a person or place: "the monuments act as guidelines through the country's colourful past"
   • ▪ a part of a person's history that is considered to be shameful: informal "he was well dressed and enthusiastic, but the tattoo on his hand hinted that he had a past"
   • 2. a past tense or form of a verb: "a simple past of the first conjugation"

   preposition

   • 1. to or on the further side of: "he rode on past the crossroads"
   • ▪ in front of or from one side to the other of: "he began to drive slowly past the houses" Similar in front ofbybeyond
   • 2. beyond in time; later than: "by this time it was past 3.30" Similar beyondbeyond the limits ofin excess of
   • 3. beyond a particular point, stage, or limit: "he feels his opponent is past his prime"
   • ▪ no longer capable of: "he is past giving the best advice"

   adverb

   • 1. so as to pass from one side of something to the other: "a flotilla of glossy limousines swept past"
   • 2. used to indicate the lapse of time: "a week went past and nothing changed"

   Word Origin Middle English: variant of passed, past participle of pass1.

   Derivatives

   • 1. pastness noun

   Scrabble Points: 6

   • P

     3

   • A

     1

   • S

     1

   • T

     1

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