English
forward
see also: Forward
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈfɔːwəd/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈfɔɹwəɹd/, /ˈfoʊwəɹd/, /ˈfɔɹəɹd/
  • (Australia, Estuary English, New Zealand) IPA: /ˈfoːwəd/
  • (New Zealand, unstressed) IPA: /foːd/
Etymology 1

From Middle English foreward, from Old English foreweard, from Proto-Germanic *fura-, *warþaz ("turned"), equivalent to fore + -ward.

Adjective

forward (not comparable)

  1. (not comparable) Situated toward or at the front of something.
    The fire was confined to the forward portion of the store.
    the forward gun in a ship
    the forward ship in a fleet
    1. (of troops, guns etc.) Situated toward or near the enemy lines.
      The forward battalion took a hammering.
  2. Acting in or pertaining to the direction in which someone or something is facing.
    My forward vision is fine, but my peripheral vision is poor.
  3. Acting in or pertaining to the direction of travel or movement.
    forward motion, forward thrust, forward momentum
  4. (figuratively) Moving in the desired direction of progress.
    This is an important forward step for the country.
  5. Having the usual order or sequence.
    The front of the fire engine has backward writing, that can be read in a mirror, as well as forward writing.
  6. (finance, commerce) Expected or scheduled to take place in the future.
    The stock price is currently 12 times forward earnings.
    The price for forward delivery is presently higher than the spot price.
  7. Advanced beyond the usual degree; advanced for the season; precocious.
    These students are very forward in their learning.
    The grass is forward, or forward for the season. We have a forward spring.
    • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene i]:
      The most forward bud / Is eaten by the canker ere it blow.
    • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene ii], page 154 ↗, column 2:
      You promiſt Knighthood to our forward ſonne, / Vnſheath your ſword, and dub him preſently.
  8. Without customary restraint or modesty; bold, cheeky, pert, presumptuous or pushy.
    She is a very forward young lady, not afraid to speak her mind.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC ↗:
      […] the lady conceived the same desires with himself, and was on her side contriving how to give the captain proper encouragement, without appearing too forward; for she was a strict observer of all rules of decorum.
    • 1859, Henry David Thoreau, A Plea for Captain John Brown‎:
      He said that if one offered himself to be a soldier under him, who was forward to tell what he could or would do, if he could only get sight of the enemy, he had but little confidence in him.
    • 1999:, Neil Gaiman, Stardust, pg. 44 (2001 Perennial paperback edition)
      "Would you think it forward of me to kiss you?" asked Tristran.
  9. (obsolete) Ready; prompt; ardently inclined; in a bad sense, eager or hasty. [to 19th century]
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Galatians 2:10 ↗:
      Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
    • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene i]:
      Nor do we find him forward to be sounded.
Synonyms Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “at the front”): back, posterior, rear
  • (antonym(s) of “expected in the future”): past
  • (antonym(s) of “without customary restraint”): restrained
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Adverb

forward (not comparable)

  1. At, near or towards the front of something.
    She was sitting well forward in the railway carriage.
    The bus driver told everyone standing up to move forward.
    • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC ↗; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC ↗, page 0016 ↗:
      A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.
    1. (nautical) At, near, or towards the bow of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).
      • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC ↗:
        Most of the men are sleeping forward, for it is near midnight, but a stout swarthy Arab, Mahomed by name, stands at the tiller, lazily steering by the stars.
  2. In the direction in which someone or something is facing.
    I leant forward to get a better look.
    The grandfather clock toppled forward and crashed to the ground.
  3. In the desired or usual direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively; onwards.
    After spending an hour stuck in the mud, we could once again move forward.
    Wind the film forward a few frames.
    Don't forget to put the clocks forward by one hour tonight!
    We need to move this project forward.
  4. So that front and back are in the usual orientation.
    Don't wear your baseball cap backward; turn it forward.
  5. In the usual order or sequence.
    A palindrome reads the same backward as forward.
  6. Into the future.
    From this day forward, there will be no more brussels sprouts at the cafeteria.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC ↗:
      The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.
  7. To an earlier point in time. See also bring forward.
    The meeting has been moved forward an hour. It was at 3 o'clock; now it's at 2 o'clock.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Verb

forward (forwards, present participle forwarding; simple past and past participle forwarded)

  1. (transitive) To advance, promote.
    He did all he could to forward the interests of the school.
    • 1941, W Somerset Maugham, Up at the Villa, Vintage, published 2004, page 26:
      Mary had a suspicion that this plan had been arranged beforehand, for she knew how the lewd old woman loved to forward love affairs […].
  2. (transitive) To send (a letter, email etc.) on to a third party.
    I'll be glad to forward your mail to you while you're gone.
  3. (transitive, bookbinding) To assemble (a book) by sewing sections, attaching cover boards, and so on.
  4. (intransitive, Caribbean) To arrive, come.
Synonyms
  • (send (something received) on to a third party) pass on
Translations Translations Noun

forward (plural forwards)

  1. (rugby) One of the eight players (comprising two props, one hooker, two locks, two flankers and one number eight, collectively known as the pack) whose primary task is to gain and maintain possession of the ball (compare back).
  2. (soccer) A player on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.
    Synonyms: attacker, centre forward, striker
  3. (ice hockey) An umbrella term for a centre or winger in ice hockey.
  4. (basketball) The small forward or power forward position; two frontcourt positions that are taller than guards but shorter than centers.
  5. (nautical) The front part of a vessel.
  6. (Internet) An e-mail message that is forwarded to another recipient or recipients; an electronic chain letter.
    • 2004, Tamara Stevens, What Is Snail Mail?: The Lost Art of Letterwriting, page 27:
      When you receive your new pen-pal's email address, do not automatically put it in your address book and use the email Addy to send 'forwards' to. Not every pen pal likes 'forwards', especially jokes and meaningless emails.
  7. (finance) A direct agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specific point in the future; distinguished from a futures contract in that the latter is standardized and traded on an exchange.
    Synonyms: forward contract
  8. Misspelling of foreword.
Translations Translations Etymology 2

From Middle English foreward, from Old English foreweard, equivalent to fore- + ward.

Noun

forward (plural forwards)

  1. (dialectal or obsolete) Agreement; covenant.
Forward
Proper noun
  1. Surname.
  2. A place name:
    1. A hamlet and former village in the Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan, Canada.
    2. A twp in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
    3. A twp in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
    4. An unincorporated community in Perry, Dane County, taken from the Wisconsin state motto.


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