passed

The word “passed” means having gone by or finished, especially referring to time. In plain terms, the past-tense/past-participle form of "pass," used as an adjective for something that has gone by or been achieved.

“Passed” is pronounced pahst (/pæst/ in IPA).

Here is “passed” used in a sentence: “In the passed years, the town has changed dramatically.”

“Passed” is an adjective.

“Passed” is a very common word in modern English.

“Passed” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: having gone by or finished, especially referring to time.

"Passed" is the past tense of the verb "to pass" and describes an action, as in "the car passed us" or "the moment has passed." "Past" is a noun, adjective, or preposition referring to a former time or position, as in "the past year" or "walked past the shop." If it's a verb, use "passed."

"Several years have passed since we last met" shows the time sense, where the years have gone by. Other examples include "the danger has passed" or "the deadline passed yesterday." In each case, "passed" describes something that has moved by, elapsed, or come to an end.

Both exist but mean different things. "The time has passed" uses the verb, meaning time has elapsed. "It's past time" uses the adjective, meaning something is overdue. When you mean the action of time going by, use "passed"; when you mean a point already gone, use "past."