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ago

American  
[uh-goh] / əˈgoʊ /

adjective

  1. gone; gone by; past (usually preceded by a noun).

    five days ago.

adverb

  1. in past time; in the past.

    All this happened long ago.
ago British  
/ əˈɡəʊ /

adverb

  1. in the past

    five years ago

    long ago
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does ago mean? Ago means in the past.It’s always used in combination with other words that indicate exactly or about how much time has passed since something happened—never by itself (you wouldn’t say That happened ago).Examples of such phrases are three weeks ago, an hour ago, five days ago, long ago, and a long time ago.Example: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ….

Etymology

Origin of ago

before 1000; Middle English ago ( n ), Old English āgān, past participle of āgān to go by, pass, equivalent to ā- a- 3 + gān to go 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.