How to Use back-and-forth in a Sentence

back-and-forth

1 of 2 noun

• Books The back-and-forth over ‘The Blind Side’ misses the big picture.
  — Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023
• The game was a true back-and-forth affair with 15 lead changes and nine ties.
  — Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 25 Feb. 2023
• For most of the night, the two teams traded blows in a back-and-forth contest.
  — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024
• So after all this back-and-forth, the Supreme Court weighed in on April 21.
  — Josh Fischman, Scientific American, 10 May 2023
• Quartz has compiled a list of their spicy back-and-forth.
  — Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2025
• This should be done in a short, quick back-and-forth motion.
  — Brad Lanphear, Men's Health, 10 June 2023
• Expect to see more back-and-forth moves between the US and Nvidia in the months ahead.
  — Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 13 Nov. 2023
• The Mavs lost a stunning back-and-forth home game with the Kings on Monday.
  — Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
• And many of you are gracious enough to engage with me in a back-and-forth.
  — Vulture, 2 Nov. 2023
• And those tense early minutes set the tone for a back-and-forth game.
  — Kansas City Star, 9 Feb. 2024
• That had a lot to do with me and my back-and-forth with sobriety.
  — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2023
• Watch the co-hosts’ back-and-forth in the video above, then drop your comments below.
  — Gabriela Silva, TVLine, 9 Dec. 2024
• The Clippers and Suns keep going back-and-forth in the fourth quarter.
  — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2023
• The amused barista eventually tires of our back-and-forth and comps the drinks.
  — Jae-Ha Kim, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2025
• After a back-and-forth first half hour, the Timbers broke through.
  — oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2023
• And this is the latest in the back-and-forth between the Colts owner and the Commanders over the course of the last year.
  — The Indianapolis Star, 8 May 2023
• That’s the back-and-forth of this evolving and quite sobering matter.
  — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
• The back-and-forth continues until about the 58-minute mark.
  — Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2023
• Luckily, the back-and-forth banter was all in fun and for a good cause.
  — Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 25 May 2023
• Since then, the back-and-forth between the parents has played out on Twitter.
  — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 12 Feb. 2025
• After a back-and-forth first quarter, Duke used a four-goal run to build a 7-4 lead.
  — USA TODAY, 27 May 2023
• Trump telephoned his adversary, and the two had a fiery back-and-forth.
  — David Freedlander, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
• These processes can take a long time, said Messinger, with lots of back-and-forth.
  — Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
• Neither side led by more than two goals in a back-and-forth battle.
  — Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2023
• The back-and-forth comes at a critical moment for Mejia.
  — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
• Here is a back-and-forth on social media: There are many things to say about all this.
  — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 27 Dec. 2024
• Then, the back-and-forth between her and Mitchell continued on.
  — Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
• Forbes chronicled their back-and-forth for the top spot more than a dozen times just last month alone.
  — Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
• The use of the private judge kept many of the details from Jolie and Pitt’s legal back-and-forth under wraps.
  — Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Dec. 2024
• The move has led to a tense back-and-forth with the show’s venue, which taunted the Virginia native online.
  — Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023

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back and forth

2 of 2 adverb

• The chair rocked back and forth.
• The children were shuttled back and forth between school and home.
• Things were yo-yoing back and forth right up to the 11th hour.
  — Jp Brammer, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2024
• Set the clock to 42 seconds, and run the length of the court, back and forth six times.
  — Sam Blum, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
• Praise music floats in the air and the crowd rocks back and forth.
  — Sam Kestenbaum, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2022
• The city and the feds went back and forth on it for nearly a year.
  — Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2022
• The two had been going back and forth in the race all year.
  — Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 30 July 2024
• Pull it tight and move it back and forth within the guide.
  — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 7 Dec. 2023
• Plants sway in the current and fish dart back and forth.
  — Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 20 June 2024
• There was a lot of back and forth about what line would be drawn.
  — Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 25 Apr. 2024
• Shahrzad goes back and forth as to whether the protests will succeed.
  — Omid Khazani and Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2022
• The camera pans back and forth searching for the whales.
  — Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024
• Rock your rolling pin back and forth over the parchment to flatten the dough.
  — Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appétit, 8 Dec. 2023
• The two teams went back and forth trading blows from there.
  — Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 3 July 2022
• As the actors volleyed back and forth, so did the tension.
  — Steven Vargasstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2023
• From this point, the show moves back and forth in time leading up to Paris.
  — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 July 2024
• Despite the back and forth, Belushi filed for divorce in 2021.
  — Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 20 Oct. 2023
• The woman said thanks and took the stroller, moving it back and forth for a test drive.
  — Beth Thames | [e-mail], al, 14 Mar. 2022
• Roll the roller from the jaw to the cheekbone and repeat, avoiding moving the roller back and forth.
  — Lauren Manaker, Health, 27 Mar. 2023
• And this back and forth doesn't serve people like them at all.
  — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2024
• After texting back and forth and one long phone call, the pair were off to the races.
  — Lanae Brody, PEOPLE.com, 12 Apr. 2022
• Protect your hands with work gloves or use grilling tongs to scrape the foil back and forth across the grates.
  — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 3 July 2023
• What is the back and forth before the explosion (if any)?
  — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 5 July 2023
• It’s been a really good camp in regards to the back and forth.
  — Creg Stephenson | [e-mail], al, 14 Aug. 2023
• But after a bit of back and forth, Barkley stuck with his first love.
  — Bychloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2022
• But the Illini kept clawing back, and the game was back and forth in the final minute.
  — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 19 Mar. 2022
• The game moved back and forth: The U.S. scored in the first 10 minutes of the match, and the English scored about 10 minutes later.
  — Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 25 July 2023
• One of the girls was going back and forth in the comments with people.
  — Essence, 25 July 2022
• In the blue-tinged video, Deveraux could be seen dancing back and forth, dropping to the ground for a split and break-dancing while his dad rocked out on stage.
  — Kayla Grant, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
• Eventually, the back and forth with brother George began anew.
  — Sarah Holzmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025

Last Updated: 8 Mar 2025