forth
1 Americanadverb
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onward or outward in place or space; forward.
to come forth; go forth.
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onward in time, in order, or in a series.
from that day forth.
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out, as from concealment or inaction; into view or consideration.
The author's true point comes forth midway through the book.
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away, as from a place or country.
to journey forth.
preposition
noun
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Firth of, an arm of the North Sea, in SE Scotland: estuary of Forth River. 48 miles (77 km) long.
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a river in S central Scotland, flowing E into the Firth of Forth. 116 miles (187 km) long.
adverb
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forward in place, time, order, or degree
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out, as from concealment, seclusion, or inaction
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away, as from a place or country
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and so on; et cetera
preposition
noun
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an inlet of the North Sea in SE Scotland: spanned by a cantilever railway bridge 1600 m (almost exactly 1 mile) long (1889), and by a road bridge (1964)
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a river in S Scotland, flowing generally east to the Firth of Forth. Length: about 104 km (65 miles)
Etymology
Origin of forth
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German fort; akin to further
Explanation
Forth means "from now on." If you declare that from today forth, you'll pursue your dream of becoming a rodeo clown, it means you'll work every day to make it happen. The adverb forth describes pushing forward, either literally or in time. When something goes forth, it moves into view or forward. In spring, flowers shoot forth from the ground. You have probably heard the expression and so forth, which like and so on means whatever else. Don't confuse forth with fourth, which sounds the same but means "number four in a series."
Vocabulary lists containing forth
"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 3
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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:
After Israel’s surprise attack on Syria and Egypt in October 1973, Kissinger spent nearly two years on “shuttle diplomacy,” flying back and forth between Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem in search of a lasting peace deal.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The effects of machine intelligence are most clearly seen in the prices of computer chips, memory products, servers and so forth.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
"The key part of this is the nature of the threat, and what was so severe that the Secret Service would put forth such a deception operation," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“The more we can keep ping-ponging back and forth against each other, the more we can keep rising our standard,“ McDuffie said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her shins and rocked back and forth, in rhythm to my spinning.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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In his book, Bailey described Forth as "uncrackable" - but he was able to claim victories against the MP.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Gannet chicks taken from Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth were sold in a market in Edinburgh.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Algae-smothered seagrass meadows in the Thames estuary along the Essex coast and the Firth of Forth on the east coast of Scotland were among those worst affected.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Members of the Forth in Atlanta, meanwhile, can hang out by the rooftop pool and join in Pilates classes before enjoying a priority reservation at buzzy Il Premio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
I was literally overwhelmed when, in reading the works of Russian revolutionists, I came across descriptions of the “holiday energies of the masses,” “the locomotives of history,” “the conditions prerequisite for revolution,” and so Forth.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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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.