to-and-fro

1 of 3

noun

: activity involving alternating movement in opposite directions
the busy to-and-fro of the holiday shoppers

to-and-fro

2 of 3

adjective

: forward and backward

to and fro

3 of 3

adverb

: from one place to another

Examples of to-and-fro in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That’s enough to pace the to-and-fro motion of a star to within 1 meter per second—about walking speed—from hundreds of light-years away. IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2011 Russian officials did not confirm Ukraine's gains, which were impossible to verify and could be reversed in the to-and-fro of war. Jamey Keaten, ajc, 12 June 2023 After making the seats sway to-and-fro as expected, an attendant would stop the swing and spin the entire room around the riders (all the furniture was bolted to the floor). Popular Science, 20 July 2023 That to-and-fro, in my work, of coherence and incoherence interests me a lot. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 18 June 2023 See all Example Sentences for to-and-fro 

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1553, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1749, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of to-and-fro was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near to-and-fro

Toamasina

to-and-fro

to and fro

Cite this Entry

“To-and-fro.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to-and-fro. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

to-and-fro

adjective
ˌtü-ən-ˈfrō
: forward and backward
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