overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

toward.

In the direction of.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

prep/təˈwɔːd/Received-Pronunciation/tɔɹd/General-American/ˈtwɔɹd/General-American/təˈwɔɹd/General-American
  1. In the direction of.

    US
    She moved toward the door.
  2. In relation to (someone or something).

    US
    What are your feelings toward him?
  3. For the purpose of attaining (an aim).

    US
    I'm saving money toward retirement.
  4. Located close to; near (a time or place).

    US
    Our place is over toward the station.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English toward, from Old English tōweard, from Proto-West Germanic *tōward, equivalent to to + -ward. Cognate with Middle Low German tôwart, Middle Dutch toewaert (Modern Dutch toewaarts), Middle High German zuowart, zūwart (Modern German zuwärts). Compare also Middle English tilward, tillward (“toward”).

adj/təˈwɔːd/Received-Pronunciation/tɔɹd/General-American/ˈtwɔɹd/General-American/təˈwɔɹd/General-American
  1. Yielding, pliant; docile; ready or apt to learn; not froward.

    US · not-comparable
  2. Approaching, coming near; impending; present, at hand.

    US · dated · not-comparable
  3. Promising, likely.

    US · archaic · not-comparable · obsolete
  4. Future; to-come.

    US · not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English toward, from Old English tōweard, from Proto-West Germanic *tōward, equivalent to to + -ward. Cognate with Middle Low German tôwart, Middle Dutch toewaert (Modern Dutch toewaarts), Middle High German zuowart, zūwart (Modern German zuwärts). Compare also Middle English tilward, tillward (“toward”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

toward has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

toward studiotoward workshello, toward

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

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.