toward
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also towards
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Old English tōweard, equivalent to to + -ward
Pronunciation [edit]
- (RP) IPA: /təˈwɔːd/, X-SAMPA: /t@"wO:d/
- (GenAm) IPA: /twɔːɹd/, /tɔː(ə)ɹd/, X-SAMPA: /tO:r\d/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(r)d, -wɔːd
- Hyphenation: to‧ward
Preposition [edit]
toward (mainly in American English)
- Moving in the direction of (but not necessarily arriving at).
- She moved toward the door.
- In relation to (someone or something).
- What are your feelings toward him?
- For the purpose of attaining (an aim).
- I'm saving money toward retirement.
- Located close to; near (a time or place).
- Our place is over toward the station.
Synonyms [edit]
Usage notes [edit]
- Although some have tried to discern a semantic distinction between the words toward and towards, the difference is merely dialectal. Toward is more common in American English and towards is the predominant form in British English.
Translations [edit]
moving in the direction of
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in relation to
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for the purpose of
located near
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Adjective [edit]
toward (not comparable)
- (obsolete) Future; to come.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iv:
- ere that wished day his beame disclosd, / He either enuying my toward good, / Or of himselfe to treason ill disposd / One day vnto me came in friendly mood [...].
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iv:
- (dated) Approaching, coming near; impending; present, at hand.
- Shakespeare
- Do you hear aught, sir, of a battle toward?
- 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. XV, Practical — Devotional
- On the morrow […] our Lord Abbot orders the Cellerarius to send off his carpenters to demolish the said structure brevi manu, and lay up the wood in safe keeping. Old Dean Herbert, hearing what was toward, comes tottering along hither, to plead humbly for himself and his mill.
- Shakespeare
- Yielding, pliant; docile; ready or apt to learn; not froward.
- (obsolete or archaic) Promising, likely; froward.
- Why, that is spoken like a toward prince. ― Shakespeare.
Statistics [edit]
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Most common English words before 1923: further · line · added · #485: toward · feeling · later · beyond
