to and fro

adv.

Back and forth.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

to and fro

adj, adv

1. back and forth

2. here and there

ˈtoing and ˈfroing n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.

to and fro - moving from one place to another and back again; "he traveled back and forth between Los Angeles and New York"; "the treetops whipped to and fro in a frightening manner"; "the old man just sat on the porch and rocked back and forth all day"

back and forth, backward and forward

Translations

جيئَةً وذهاباً

sem a tam

frem og tilbage

hin und her

de long en large en long et en large

til og frá

avanti e indietro

att og fram

ileri geriöteye beriye

来回地

to and fro

adv → hin und her

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

to

(tə) , (tu) preposition

1. towards; in the direction of. I cycled to the station; The book fell to the floor; I went to the concert/lecture/play.

2. as far as. His story is a lie from beginning to end.

3. until. Did you stay to the end of the concert?

4. sometimes used to introduce the indirect object of a verb. He sent it to us; You're the only person I can talk to.

5. used in expressing various relations. Listen to me!; Did you reply to his letter?; Where's the key to this door?; He sang to (the accompaniment of) his guitar.

6. into a particular state or condition. She tore the letter to pieces.

7. used in expressing comparison or proportion. He's junior to me; Your skill is superior to mine; We won the match by 5 goals to 2.

8. showing the purpose or result of an action etc. He came quickly to my assistance; To my horror, he took a gun out of his pocket.

9. (tə) used before an infinitive eg after various verbs and adjectives, or in other constructions. I want to go!; He asked me to come; He worked hard to (= in order to) earn a lot of money; These buildings were designed to (= so as to) resist earthquakes; She opened her eyes to find him standing beside her; I arrived too late to see him.

10. used instead of a complete infinitive. He asked her to stay but she didn't want to.

(tuː) adverb

1. into a closed or almost closed position. He pulled/pushed the door to.

2. used in phrasal verbs and compounds. He came to (= regained consciousness).

to and fro (tuːənˈfrou)

backwards and forwards. they ran to and fro in the street.

References in periodicals archive

"There was all the toing and froing with Scott McKenna.

TAYLOR ON WAY BACK; Big defender Ash not ruled out of clash with Staggies Taylor on way back to ease injury crisis

Vivi and her mother, Gina, have a strained relationship and after some emotional and confusing toing and froing, we realise it's because Vivi doesn't know who her father is, despite multiple attempts at clawing the information out of her mum.

Go with the flow of tears; bookclub with NICOLA SMITH Do you have a book review or would you like me to review a book you've enjoyed? Please get in touch at DRBOOKCLUB@dailyrecord.co.uk or tweet @NicolawordSmithOne Minute Later by Susan Lewis

As Jupiter moves direct after four months, too, there could be a sense of closure after much toing and froing.

STARS; Our brilliant astrologer takes a look at what the next Seven Days hold for you.

What followed was months of toing and froing between John and Peugeot over the repair costs which would run into four figures.

Lensman's grand tour of Scots brought shuddering to a halt in beauty spots warranty row; Raw Deal helps get far-travelled photographer back on the road

Reports on Sunday morning that talks had "stalled" were accurate enough but there has been plenty of toing and froing between Charnley and Benitez in the last few days.

No news not good news in Rafa wait

For three years, PM Theresa May has been toing and froing around Europe having chats, while various ministers attend high-level gettogethers where they enjoy fine dining and first-class air travel.

It's our last chance to save the planet; Edited by FIONA PARKER YOUR VOICE

After much toing and froing', a helpful person went out of her way to extract the relevant accurate information.

Kenya's bureaucracy cries out for overhaul

Ezra Nahome, CEO of Lambert Smith Hampton, added: "Viewed in the current context, Q4's healthy volume is a timely reminder of just how resilient UK real estate is proving to be in spite of all the political toing and froing.

Strongest investment year after PS147m deal

They held a long meeting in the strictest privacy a while back and there was much toing and froing before a mutual decision was made that the parting ought to be now rather than at the season's end as originally agreed.

What must Rafa Benitez think as he watches David Wagner's emotional Huddersfield exit; The Newcastle United boss can only dream of having the same relationship with the club's owner Mike Ashley

I was toing and froing at the idea [of coming back] and I thought I would regret if I didn't try.

Love for gymnastics drives Jamaica's Francis toward Tokyo

The usual outcome in these situations is several months of on-off negotiations, plenty of toing and froing in the media, and eventually a compromise deal that leaves everyone happy.

Guardiola's anger at Raheem rumours

The viewers, as yet, do not have the full picture - despite all the toing and froing - but, despite its irritations, I think I'll return to find out what the hell happened.

What time is it? What's going on? Who knows! SWITCHED ON