1
general::
noun time before the present ADJ. immediate, recent | ancient, (dim and) distant, remote Many modern festivals can be traced back to an ancient past. It all happened in the distant past. VERB + PAST cling to, live in We're going to have to stop living in the past and invest in new technology if the firm is to survive. | belong in/to Those memories belong to the past and I don't want to think about them. PREP. from the ~ Memories from the past came flooding back to him. | in the ~ I admit that I have made mistakes in the past. | into the ~ events stretching back many years into the past | of the ~ great artists of the past PHRASES be all in the past Don't worry about it?it's all in the past now. | a break with the past In an effort to make a complete break with the past, she sold everything and went abroad. | a glimpse of the past The uncovering of the buried town gives us a unique glimpse of the past. | a link with the past The old market is a living link with the past, unchanged for hundreds of years. | nostalgia for the past, a thing of the past a new device that makes such problems a thing of the past sb/sth's history ADJ. historic, historical | colourful, rich | chequered, murky, sordid | criminal | glorious, illustrious Few remnants remain of the city's glorious past. | cultural, political | ancestral, evolutionary | imperial, industrial VERB + PAST reflect on/upon | recapture trying in vain to recapture his past | erase, escape from, put behind you, wipe out Political parties cannot escape from their pasts any more than individuals can. The counselling helped Dan to put the past behind him. PREP. from your ~ ghosts from his past | in your ~ at some time in her past
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
past
adjectives
the recent past
• The optimistic economic climate of the recent past has gone.
the distant/remote past
• Rivers of molten lava clearly flowed here in the distant past.
the immediate past
(= the very recent past )
• In order to understand the present, we must look at the immediate past.
verbs
forget the past
• Forget the past and focus on the future.
be living in the past
(= think only about the past )
• You’ve got to stop living in the past.
phrases
be/become a thing of the past
(= not exist any more, or stop existing )
• We hope that smoking will become a thing of the past.
a break with the past
(= when something is done in a completely different way to how it was done in the past )
• These policies are a break with the past.
in the dim and distant past
(= a very long time ago )
• I think she sang Ireland's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest sometime in the dim and distant past.
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