the past

noun

1

: an earlier time : the time before the present

happy memories of the past

In the past, there was a company luncheon every month.

2

grammar : a verb tense that is used to refer to the past : the past tense

The past of "walk" is "walked."

Examples of the past in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the past few years, several members of the Super Cartel that were living in Dubai, including Imperiale, have been deported or extradited to their home countries. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026

Mary Brown retired after coaching boys and girls volleyball in the district for 19 years, including the past eight years with the Knights’ boys team. —Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

The milestone comes as oil prices have surged higher over the past week amid a dual blockade by the United States and Iran of the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint in the region for transiting crude and petroleum-based products out of the Persian Gulf. —Rob Wile, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026

While these tools remain limited, they have been explored deeply over the past few decades — not just for the sake of ultrafinitism, but because sorting out the shape of things is important for developing a finite physics. —Quanta Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for the past

• aghast
• amassed
• biassed
• broadcast
• bypassed
• downcast
• forecast
• foremast
• harassed
• holdfast
• mainmast
• newscast