toward
/ˈtwɔɹd/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.72 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "She moved toward the door."
- "[A]Nd when Balaam ſawe that it pleaſed the LORD to bleſſe Iſrael, hee went not, as at other times to ſeeke foꝛ inchantments, but hee ſet his face toward the wilderneſſe."
- "Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear."
- "What are your feelings toward him?"
- "So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye ſhalbe euill toward his bꝛother, and toward the wife of his boſome, and towards the remnant of his childꝛen which he ſhall leaue:"
- "I'm saving money toward retirement."
Etymology
From Middle English toward, from Old English tōweard, from Proto-West Germanic *tōward, equivalent to to + -ward. Cognate with Middle Low German tôwart, Middle Dutch toewaert (Modern Dutch toewaarts), Middle High German zuowart, zūwart (Modern German zuwärts). Compare also Middle English tilward, tillward (“toward”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /tɔɹd/
- British English: /təˈwɔːd/