ago

adjective or adverb

: earlier than the present time
10 years ago

Examples of ago in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Sales rose from the year-ago quarter to $1.69 billion. Dean Seal, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2023 His memory of these long-ago events might be radically different from yours. Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 5 Jan. 2023 In 2015, a Canadian researcher discovered that in a long-ago lawsuit, Cabrillo had testified that he was born in Spain. Gustavo Arellanocolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2022 Yet, like the Biblical Ten Commandments — also written on stone like the king’s code — we the people today still are governed by laws Hammurabi influenced — especially his long-ago view of fairness and justice needed to remove chaos from society. Dallas News, 2 Nov. 2022 Releasing the music triggered an overwhelming amount of nostalgia throughout her fanbase, causing many people to reconnect to a long-ago time of their lives. Sahar Arshad, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2021 These systems crunch together in weird and wild ways, fed by the landscape, your recent and long-ago actions, and random numbers behind the scenes. Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 5 Dec. 2022 Perhaps that’s why my mind kept circling back to long-ago conversations with my novice arts-journalist friend. Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2022 But long-ago bygones are bygones, and Hall plans to attend a public welcome for the couple Wednesday afternoon at City Hall Plaza. Katie Mogg, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ago.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ago, agon, from past participle of agon "to go away, pass by, pass away, come to an end," going back to Old English āgān "to go away, depart, (of time) pass," from ā-, perfective prefix + gān "to go entry 1" — more at abide

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ago was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ago

Cite this Entry

“Ago.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ago. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ago

adjective or adverb
: earlier than the present time
many years ago

More from Merriam-Webster on ago

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