to and fro

T t

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [too and froh]
- /tu ænd froʊ/
- /tuː ənd frəʊ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [too and froh]
- /tu ænd froʊ/

Definitions of to and fro words

adjective to and fro back-and-forth: to-and-fro motion. 1
noun plural to and fro a continuous or regular movement backward and forward; an alternating movement, flux, flow, etc.: the to-and-fro of the surf. 1
adverb to and fro Obsolete. from; back. 1
idioms to and fro to and fro, alternating from one place to another; back and forth: The trees were swaying to and fro in the wind. 1
phrase to and fro If someone moves to and fro, they move repeatedly from one place to another and back again, or from side to side. 0
adjective to and fro back and forth 0

See all 9 definitions of to and fro

Information block about the term

Origin of to and fro

First appearance:

before 1820

One of the 38% newest English words

First recorded in 1820-30; adj. and noun use of adv. phrase to and (fro) ( def 2 )

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for To and fro

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of To and fro

to and fro popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 39% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 69% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

to and fro usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for to and fro

adv to and fro

back and forth — If someone moves back and forth, they repeatedly move in one direction and then in the opposite direction.
from pillar to post — an upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument: Gothic pillars; a pillar to commemorate Columbus.

All 2 Synonyms of to and fro