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Definition past in British English

past noun

noun
/pɑːst/
1

the time before the present, and everything that happened then

Example

Archaeology helps us to understand the past.

Example

He has made similar promises in the past.

Example

The business has grown steadily in the recent past.

Example

Anyway, it's all in the past now (=something unpleasant is over and can be forgotten).

Synonyms and related words
the past yesterday the mists of time/history
2

the things that someone has done or the things that have happened to someone or something during the time before now

Example

My past as a player has undoubtedly helped me in my career as a coach.

Example

a legacy of our imperial past

Synonyms and related words
the past yesterday the mists of time/history
2.1

an earlier part of someone's life that they keep secret because other people would not approve of it

Example

We discovered that the author had a murky past.

Example

Only his family and closest friends know about his past.

Synonyms and related words
secret confidentiality stealth
3

the forms of a verb group indicating that an action or event happened regularly, or that a situation existed or was true during a period before now. For example 'he worked', and 'she was working' are both in the past.

Synonyms and related words
the active aspect auxiliary
Definition past in British English

Related Words

Words related to past:

a blast from the past (phrase) be a past master at doing something (phrase) be past caring (phrase) redemption (phrase) retrieval (phrase) first past the post (phrase) first-past-the-post (adjective) fly-past (noun) get past (phrasal verb) half past etc (phrase) I wouldn’t put it past someone (to do something) (phrase) live in the past (phrase) march-past (noun) past (adverb, preposition) past (noun) past (adjective) past it (phrase) past its sell-by date (phrase) past master (noun) past participle (noun) put the past behind you (phrase) quarter (noun) the past continuous (noun) the past perfect (noun) the past simple (noun) the simple past (noun) worm (your way) etc something (phrase)