“Passed” or “Past”—Which to use?

“Passed” or “Past”

Overview

passed / past are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

passed: (verb) go across or through. (verb) place into the hands or custody of. (verb) travel past. (verb) go unchallenged; be approved. (verb) go successfully through a test or a selection process. (verb) accept or judge as acceptable. (verb) allow to go without comment or censure. (verb) transfer to another; of rights or property. (verb) throw (a ball) to another player. (verb) cause to pass.

past: (noun) the time that has elapsed. (noun) a earlier period in someone's life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret). (noun) a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past. (adjective) earlier than the present time; no longer current. (adjective) of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office.

Pronunciation

passed: p·AE·s·t

past: p·AE·s·t

Trends

📈 See Trends

Looking for a tool that handles this for you wherever you write?

Get Sapling

Examples in Context

Examples of “passed”

…from a single gunshot that passed through her hand and neck,…
…claim that the term was passed down from the Middle Ages,…
Eaton admitted that he "passed by" the place where Ingham…
…the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each…
He passed studentexamen in 1929 and became…
…two plowlands, of Ballycarhy were passed in the Earl of Thomond’s…
…how intelligence reports were not passed on to those who needed…
…Baltic Sea and Western Europe passed.
…that killed Anni Dewani had passed through her left hand followed…
…(now KDFW) in Dallas, who passed along word from an official…

Examples of “past”

…death, Shou stays in the past with Champ to make the…
…encountered sometime later in the past when they crashed from an
…tells the Kyurangers about Tsurugi's past.
…League Baseball players from the past century.
I Wish The Past Was Different
…use as cores to resurrect past Super Sentai villains Basco Ta…
He is a past student of the Leonora Nursery…
…sides of his visor extended past his helmet to resemble bull
…one MP using the first past the post election system with…
…was originally lost in the past until Shishi Red met Orion's…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

Too Much to Remember?

Install Sapling