past

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɑːst/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pæst/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(past, päst)

Collocations for "past"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "past" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2026

past

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
n
  1. his [glorious, legendary, infamous, famous, sordid, interesting, dark] past
  2. in the [distant, recent] past
  3. the [nation's, star's, player's, family's] [glorious] past
  4. the [star's, athlete's] sordid past was revealed
  5. her past (finally) caught up with her
  6. [reminisce, talk, forget] about the past
  7. refused to [discuss, talk about] her past
  8. [try, attempt, fail] to learn from the past
  9. [delve, look] into the past
  10. the [problems, bad times, arguments] are all in the past
  11. [newspapers, books] are a thing of the past
  12. put the past behind him
  13. (but) that is all in the past now
  14. what happened in the past stays in the past
  15. the [verb, sentence, phrase] is in the past
  16. the future seen from the past
  17. [fashion, computers, cars] from the past
  18. the past, present, and future
  19. in the past, people [believed, thought, tended]
adj
  1. during this past [year]
  2. over the past [few, six] years
  3. have made past [errors, mistakes]
  4. living off past glories
  5. past events have [contributed, shaped, led]
  6. past times
  7. a past [love, lover]
  8. in a past life
  9. the past [owner, president]
prep
  1. is past his prime
  2. past [his best, the sell-by date]
  3. [she was, I'm] past caring
  4. [continue, go] past the [library, school]
  5. is past [due, 5:00]
  6. just past [lunchtime, midnight]
  7. [half, ten minutes] past [three]
adv
  1. [drove, walked, went] past
additional examples
  1. during this past [year]
  2. his [glorious, legendary, infamous, famous, sordid, interesting, dark] past
  3. over the past [few, six] years
  4. in the [distant, recent] past
  5. have made past [errors, mistakes]
  6. the [nation's, star's, player's, family's] [glorious] past
  7. living off past glories
  8. the [star's, athlete's] sordid past was revealed
  9. past events have [contributed, shaped, led]
  10. her past (finally) caught up with her
  11. [reminisce, talk, forget] about the past
  12. past times
  13. refused to [discuss, talk about] her past
  14. a past [love, lover]
  15. in a past life
  16. [try, attempt, fail] to learn from the past
  17. the past [owner, president]
  18. [delve, look] into the past
  19. the time for [apologies, recriminations, preparation] is past
  20. the [problems, bad times, arguments] are all in the past
  21. [newspapers, books] are a thing of the past
  22. is past his prime
  23. put the past behind him
  24. past [his best, the sell-by date]
  25. (but) that is all in the past now
  26. [she was, I'm] past caring
  27. [drove, walked, went] past
  28. what happened in the past stays in the past
  29. [continue, go] past the [library, school]
  30. the [verb, sentence, phrase] is in the past
  31. past the point (of)
  32. the future seen from the past
  33. [fashion, computers, cars] from the past
  34. is past [due, 5:00]
  35. the past, present, and future
  36. just past [lunchtime, midnight]
  37. in the past, people [believed, thought, tended]
  38. [half, ten minutes] past [three]
  39. UK: it's [half] past
'past' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acknowledge - benefit - break - charge - dog - draw - extend - file - forget - learn - let - move - read - reflect - roll - one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight - nine - behind - awareness - battle - boss - burn - century - couple - inside - link - worst - trip - present - post - performance - perfect - peace - outside - master - march - lover - dark - first - gone - way - regardless - recent

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