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definitions

forever

[ fawr-ev-er, fer- ]
/ fɔrˈɛv ər, fər- /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forever ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

without ever ending; eternally: to last forever.
continually; incessantly; always: He's forever complaining.
lasting for an endless period of time: the process of finding a forever home for the dog.

noun

an endless or seemingly endless period of time: It took them forever to make up their minds.

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RELATED WORDS

late, lengthy, slow, protracted, durable, perpetual, long-lasting, enduring, stable, prolonged, delayed, sustained, dragging, diffuse, lingering, invariable, set, everlasting, perennial, infinity

Nearby words

foretold, foretooth, foretop, foretopman, foretriangle, forever and a day, forever and a day, forevermore, foreverness, forewarn, forewarned is forearmed

Idioms

    forever and a day, eternally; always: They pledged to love each other forever and a day.

Origin of forever

First recorded in 1300–50; orig. phrase for ever
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for forever and a day

forever

/ (fɔːˈrɛvə, fə-) /

adverb

Also: for ever without end; everlastingly; eternally
at all times; incessantly
informal for a very long timehe went on speaking forever

noun

(as object) informal a very long timeit took him forever to reply
…forever! an exclamation expressing support or loyaltyScotland forever!

usage

Forever and for ever can both be used to say that something is without end. For all other meanings, forever is the preferred form
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for forever and a day

forever

adv.

late 14c., for ever; from for + ever. One word from late 17c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with forever and a day

forever and a day

1

For a very long time, as in He's been working on that book forever and a day. This hyperbolic expression probably originated as a corruption of the now obsolete for ever and ay. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew (4:4): “Farewell for ever and a day.” Today it is mainly a substitute for “very long time.” [c. 1600]

2

Incessantly, ceaselessly, as in Will this racket never end? It's been going on forever and a day. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.