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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

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

The nerd didn’t quite get revenge, but actor Robert Carradine and Hans Stuck ran a spirited, back-and-forth race Sunday in the Bridgestone Potenza Supercar Race.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Some toddlers wore recording devices at home to count back-and-forth conversations with their caregivers, part of a program to boost language development.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

The back-and-forth between Taylor Farms and regulators is the latest wrinkle that consumers have to navigate while they figure out what’s safe to eat right now.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Kathy called it that, their spirited back-and-forth about everything from what the kids ate for dinner to whether they should enlist a collection agency to help with a particular client.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

During our interview, Roebuck went back and forth between his feelings about Walters’ sentence.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The match swung back and forth, with neither pair able to sustain a telling lead, but three birdies in a row from the 11th gave the Swedes a two-hole lead.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Cyber officials had been in talks with Anthropic since May about testing Mythos 5, which resulted in months of back and forth between the two sides.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Both players failed to take break-point opportunities before a match-deciding breaker swung back and forth.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

She was clever with her words, and we tossed the rhymes back and forth.

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