foreword

American  

[fawr-wurd, -werd, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌwɜrd, -wərd, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

• forewords
  plural

1. a short introductory statement in a published work, as a book, especially when written by someone other than the author.

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foreword British  

/ ˈfɔːˌwɜːd /

noun

1. an introductory statement to a book

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Synonym Usage

See introduction.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• forewords
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foreword

First recorded in 1835–45; fore- + word

Explanation

Many students tend to skip the foreword at the beginning of a long novel, or go back and read it later. Use the noun foreword for an introduction that comes at the start of a book. A foreword is usually written by someone other than the author and it gives information about the critical reception of the book, personal history of the author, or some other extra detail of interest to the reader. The word foreword combines fore, "before, or first" and word, and it's closely connected to the German word for "preface," Vorwort.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreword forewords

He wrote the foreword for the scholarly book “California Grizzly” and from his Montana home keeps an eye on the well-being of his home state’s precariously small colony of grizzlies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Ben Okri’s foreword to “The Inheritors” is evocative but diffuse; Marlon James, writing on “Pincher Martin,” is inclined to impose his own rhetorical energy on the text.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The book, co-authored by Darren Grubb and Johnny Russo, featured a foreword by Letterman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

“George Martin: The Scores,” which will be published in April and feature a foreword by Paul McCartney, highlights Martin’s singular influence in making their corpus a reality for the ages.

From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026

My godfather, Alex Haley, bequeathed me the opportunity to write this foreword to my father’s autobiography.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Harris himself has contributed to Pickering's book - published by Manchester University Press - writing one of four forewords along with Martin Fry, Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher along with a separate chapter.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

Their separate forewords to the committee’s final report, released Thursday, tell what united these unlikely partners.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2022

I guess that’s my procrastination, because I’m reading the forewords to all his books.

From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022

Although she put away her pen, Cleary re-released three of her most cherished books with three famous fans writing forewords for the new editions.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2021

Only one of my books is without a preface,—though some of them are disguised as notes, or forewords, or afterwords,—and I hereby apologize for the acephalous condition of that volume.

From Woven with the Ship A Novel of 1865 by Cyrus Townsend Brady

Related Words

• preamble
• preface
• prologue