fore-and-aft
adjective
located along or parallel to a line from the stem to the stern.
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fore-and-aft
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fore and aft
fore and aftBoth front and back, everywhere, as in The children clung to the teacher fore and aft. This expression is nautical terminology for the bow, or front, and the stern, or back, of a vessel. Today it is also used more broadly. [First half of 1600s]
fore-and-aft
American
[fawr-uhnd-aft, -ahft, fohr-]
/ ˈfɔr əndˈæft, -ˈɑft, ˈfoʊr- /
adjective
adverb
fore and aft
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of fore-and-aft
First recorded in 1610–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The hatch seats and a fore-and-aft portside passenger seat form an L-shaped settee.
From Time Magazine Archive
Eddie Allen tucked up her legs and she whisked away from the field, slim, slick, slightly bent in her fore-and-aft line so that her nose drooped like an ant-eater's.
From Time Magazine Archive
An extended flying bridge deck provides good cover for the cockpit and fore-and-aft storage for the shore boat.
From Time Magazine Archive
The starboard stateroom has fore-and-aft twins, while the port is fitted with an athwartship queen berth.
From Time Magazine Archive
The third stage vibrated quite a bit, not from side to side but with a choppy fore-and-aft motion which was felt as almost a buzz.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
In Montana, the GPS searches for my salvation, fore and aft.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2020
Her 20-foot fiberglass boat, with snarling teeth painted on the bow, had fore and aft cabins and an open space in the middle where she could work the oars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2020
Large fore and aft cargo doors can malfunction and leak.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 8, 2020
Your body actually shrinks a little throughout the day, so extra fore and aft seat travel makes a difference.
From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2018
I clambered fore and aft my hulk until a comber split her, keel from ribs, and the big timber floated free; the mast, too, broke away.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
