Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

past

3 noun
     
past3 S1 W2
1

the past

a) the time that existed before the present
in the past
The lake was smaller in the past.
Good manners have become a thing of the past (=something that does not exist any more).
It's time she stopped living in the past (=thinking only about the past) and began to think about her future.
the recent/immediate/distant past
She allowed her mind to drift towards the recent past.
I did a law degree some time in the dim and distant past (=a long time ago).
b) SLG the past tense
2

all in the past

spoken used to say that an unpleasant experience has ended and can be forgotten:
You mustn't think about it. It's all in the past now.
3 [singular] the past life or existence of someone or something:
At some time in its past the church was rebuilt.
The woman who ran the bar had a very shady past (=events in her past which might be considered bad).
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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