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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

onward.

Moving forward.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈɒnwəd/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑnwɚd//ˈɔnwɚd//ˈɔnwəɾd/Scotland
  1. Moving forward.

    not-comparable
    There was an onward rush as the gates opened.
  2. Advanced in a forward direction or toward an end.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-der. Proto-Germanic *an Proto-West Germanic *ana Old English on Middle English on English on Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Old English -weard English -ward English onward From on + -ward.

adv/ˈɒnwəd/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑnwɚd//ˈɔnwɚd//ˈɔnwəɾd/Scotland
  1. In a forward direction.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-der. Proto-Germanic *an Proto-West Germanic *ana Old English on Middle English on English on Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Old English -weard English -ward English onward From on + -ward.

verb/ˈɒnwəd/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑnwɚd//ˈɔnwɚd//ˈɔnwəɾd/Scotland
  1. To keep going; to progress or persevere.

    intransitive
  2. To pass (something) onward; to forward.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-der. Proto-Germanic *an Proto-West Germanic *ana Old English on Middle English on English on Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Old English -weard English -ward English onward From on + -ward.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.