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• back-and-forth
  back-and-forth

  adjective

  backward and forward; side to side; to and fro.
• back and forth
  back and forth

  Also, backward(s) and forward(s). To and fro, moving in one direction and then the opposite and so making no progress in either. For example, The clock pendulum swung back and forth. The term is also used figuratively, as in The lawyers argued the point backwards and forwards for an entire week. [c. 1600]

back-and-forth

American  

[bak-uhn-fawrth, -fohrth, -uhnd-] / ˈbæk ənˈfɔrθ, -ˈfoʊrθ, -ənd- /

adjective

1. backward and forward; side to side; to and fro.

   a back-and-forth shuttling of buses to the stadium; the back-and-forth movement of a clock's pendulum.

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noun

1. unresolved argument or discussion.

back and forth Idioms  

1. Also, backward(s) and forward(s). To and fro, moving in one direction and then the opposite and so making no progress in either. For example, The clock pendulum swung back and forth. The term is also used figuratively, as in The lawyers argued the point backwards and forwards for an entire week. [c. 1600]

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Usage

What does back-and-forth mean? Back-and-forth is a noun that means an argument or discussion in which little gets resolved. Back-and-forth is also used to describe something having a movement pattern in which it repeatedly moves somewhere and returns to where it started. A back-and-forth is a discussion where two or more people are failing to reach a compromise or a solution, as in I had a very long back-and-forth with my girlfriend about what to do with my dog. A back-and-forth is a much less productive version of a give-and-take, where people more easily reach a compromise. As an adjective, back-and-forth describes a movement from one point to another and then back to the original point, as in The audience stared at the back-and-forth movements of the hypnotist’s watch. Such a movement might be forward and backward and forward again or from one side to another and back to the first side. Example: The budget discussion became an intense back-and-forth where neither side wanted to concede anything.

Etymology

Origin of back-and-forth

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

back-and-forth back and forth

Years of back-and-forth followed, with the result first changed to a draw, then reverted back to an England win.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

It may include hands-on practice or a Socratic-like back-and-forth that requires reason to get through a problem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

“That seems bizarre,” Justice Goodwin H. Liu said during a back-and-forth with Hertz.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

The human interaction, back-and-forth questions and follow-ups are essential to keep their stories authentic and anti-AI — a system that is proving to be detrimental to teaching writing skills.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

One of the Specials was only a stone’s throw away, scanning the forest with slow back-and-forth sweeps of his head, his eyes searching the dense trees relentlessly.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Dressed in shorts, sandals and a dark baseball cap, the former Ukrainian Special Forces soldier strolled back and forth, chatting with the receptionist and dipping repeatedly into a bowl of free snacks.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The next morning, she protested her neighbor for the first time, grabbing a sign that said “Justice for All” and paddling back and forth in front of his home, hoping he would see.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

"Studying how quark wakes bounce back and forth will give us new insights on the quark-gluon plasma's properties," Lee says.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

He began working as a preteen, bouncing back and forth between the U.S. and Tijuana.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Opal had scooted as near to Archie as she dared, looking back and forth between her father and me.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff