back and forth

See also: back-and-forth

English

Alternative forms

• back-and-forth

Adverb

back and forth (not comparable)

1. From one place to another and back again.
   1. Backwards and forwards.

Coordinate terms

• out-and-back
• out-and-home
• side-to-side
• there and back
• to and fro
• up and down

 

Translations

from one place to another and back again

• Arabic: ذَهَابًا وَإِيَابًا (ḏahāban wa-ʔiyāban)
• Bulgarian: напред-назад (napred-nazad)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 來回／来回 (zh) (láihuí)

• Danish: frem og tilbage
• Dutch: heen en weer (nl)
• Estonian: edasi-tagasi (et)
• Finnish: edestakaisin (fi)
• French: aller-retour (fr) m, va-et-vient (fr) m
• Friulian: indevant e indaûr
• Galician: de aquí para alí (gl), entre idas e vidas
• Georgian: წინ და უკან (c̣in da uḳan), წინ-უკან (c̣in-uḳan), აქეთ-იქით (aket-ikit)
• German: hin und her (de)
• Greek: μπρος πίσω (bros píso)
• Hebrew: הלוך חזור
• Hungarian: oda-vissza (hu), ide-oda (hu), előre-hátra (hu), fel-alá (hu), fel s alá, fel és alá, le-fel (hu), ki-be (hu)
• Italian: avanti e indietro
• Japanese: 行ったり来たり (いったりきたり, ittari-kitari)
• Korean: 왔다갔다 (watdagatda), 왔다리갔다리 (watdarigatdari)
• Latin: hūc et illūc
• Macedonian: напред-назад (napred-nazad)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frem og tilbake (no)

• Polish: tam i z powrotem (pl), tam i nazad (pl)
• Portuguese: para frente e para trás, para lá e para cá
• Romanian: de colo colo, de colo până colo, dintr-o parte în alta, de pe o parte pe alta, înainte şi înapoi, încoace şi încolo, peste tot, peste tot locul
• Russian: туда́ и обра́тно (ru) (tudá i obrátno), туда́-сюда́ (ru) (tudá-sjudá) (fast movement, possibly aimless), взад-вперёд (ru) (vzad-vperjód) (fast movement, possibly aimless)
• Serbo-Croatian: amo-tamo, tamo i natrag, tamo i nazad
• Spanish: de acá para allá (es), de ceca en meca
• Swedish: fram och tillbaka (sv)
• Tagalog: pabalik-balik
• Tocharian B: orkäntai
• Turkish: ileri geri
• Vietnamese: tới lui (vi)

See also

• here and there
• hither and thither
• hither and yon

 

Adjective

back and forth (not comparable)

1. Going from one place or position to another and back again.

   The back and forth movement of the tide causes erosion of the coastline.

Translations

going from one place to another and back again

• Catalan: vaiver (ca)
• Esperanto: oscila
• Finnish: edestakainen (fi)
• Hungarian: oda-vissza (hu), ide-oda (hu)
• Italian: avanti e indietro

Noun

back and forth (countable and uncountable, plural back and forths)

1. The movement (of someone or something) forward followed by a return to the same position. May refer to a concept such as an emotional state or a relationship as well as a physical thing.
   • 2009, Dorothy Rich with Beverly Mattox, Megaskills for Babies, Toddlers, and Beyond: Building Your Child's Happiness, page 43:

     Roll the ball to your child, who then rolls it back to you. After a few back-and-forths, roll the ball to a nearby corner of the room or other hiding place.

2. Negotiations or discussions (not necessarily fruitful) between two or more parties; a dialog.
   • 1895, United States Congress, “Congressional serial set”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 11214, page 718:

     There's some back and forth between Simpson and his CIA counterparts and, in essence, the CIA says that you must ship all of the quantities requested.

   • 2014 October 27, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap, “Clean (Taylor's Version)”, in 1989 (Taylor's Version)‎^[1], performed by Taylor Swift, published 2023 October 27:

     It was months and months of back and forth, ah-ah, ah-ah
     You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore

Synonyms

• (negotiations): tug of war

Translations

movement (of someone or something) forward followed by a return to the same position

• Catalan: vaivé (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 往返 (zh) (wǎng-fǎn), 來回／来回 (zh) (láihuí)

• Esperanto: oscilo
• Finnish: edestakainen liike
• French: va-et-vient (fr) m, allées et venues (fr) f pl
• German: Hin und Her (de) n
• Greek: πηγαινέλα (el) n (pigainéla)
• Hungarian: (swinging/rocking) himbálózás, (undulation/fluctuation) hullámzás (hu), (commuting or pendulum-like movement) ingázás (hu), (vacillation/fluctuation) ingadozás (hu), (alternation) váltakozás (hu)
• Italian: andirivieni (it) m, viavai (it) m
• Japanese: 行ったり来たり (いったりきたり, ittari-kitari)
• Polish: ruch tam i z powrotem m

negotiations or discussions between two or more parties, a dialog

• Hungarian: huzavona (hu), huzakodás (hu), vitatkozás (hu)