Forward

How to spell forward

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce forward

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does forward mean?

1. adverbToward the front, or onward in space or time.
2. verbTo send a letter, parcel, or message on to a further destination.
3. adjectiveSituated at or near the front, or bold and presumptuous in manner.
4. nounAn attacking player positioned near the opponents' goal in football, hockey, or similar games.

Forward in a sentence

• adverb

  The soldiers moved forward as soon as the order was given.

• verb

  Please forward the email to everyone on the project team.

• adjective

  Passengers in the forward cabin board before everyone else.

• noun

  He played as a forward for the local football club.

• adverb

  She leaned forward to read the small print on the contract.

• verb

  The post office agreed to forward our mail to the new address.

Where does forward come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English word, descending directly from the Old English foreweard, which combined fore meaning 'in front' or 'before' with the suffix -weard meaning 'turned toward' or 'in the direction of'. That same -ward element gives us a whole family of bearings such as toward, backward, inward, and homeward, all of them pointing the reader in a particular direction. The original sense was straightforwardly spatial, describing what lay at the front or moved ahead, and the figurative use for time (looking 'forward' to events still to come) and for a person who is bold or presumptuous grew up alongside it. The spelling has stayed remarkably stable for more than a thousand years, and the trap for modern writers is purely phonetic: in casual speech the r in the middle is often swallowed, which tempts people to drop it and write 'foward'. Remembering the buried word fore keeps the r firmly in place.

How the word is built

• fore- (in front, before)
• -ward (suffix marking direction)

Words that sound like forward

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• foreword: A short introductory section at the front of a book, usually written by someone other than the author.