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
More than twice the percentage of BNPL users had lost government benefits, relocated because of housing costs, experienced a natural disaster/weather event or were evicted in the past year, compared with nonusers.
—
Hien An Ngo, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024
The amount working-age Americans spent on health insurance through the payroll deductions has jumped nearly three times faster than wages over the past two dozen years.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2024
The porcelain fragment came to light during excavations conducted over the past three years on Mount Zion by the IAA in collaboration with the German Protestant Institute of Archeology.
—Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 15 Dec. 2024
Virtually all of its debt investments are floating-rate, so its trajectory of the past few years, and its prospects going forward, are somewhat similar to OBDC’s.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for the past 
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Hien An Ngo, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024
The amount working-age Americans spent on health insurance through the payroll deductions has jumped nearly three times faster than wages over the past two dozen years.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2024
The porcelain fragment came to light during excavations conducted over the past three years on Mount Zion by the IAA in collaboration with the German Protestant Institute of Archeology.
—Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 15 Dec. 2024
Virtually all of its debt investments are floating-rate, so its trajectory of the past few years, and its prospects going forward, are somewhat similar to OBDC’s.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for the past
Dictionary Entries Near the past
Cite this Entry
“The past.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20past. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
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