forward

American  

[fawr-werd] / ˈfɔr wərd /

adverb

1. toward or at a place, point, or time in advance; onward; ahead.

   to move forward;

   from this day forward;

   to look forward.

2. toward the front.

   Let's move forward so we can hear better.

3. into view or consideration; out; forth.

   He brought forward several good suggestions.

4. toward the bow or front of a vessel or aircraft.

5. ahead.

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adjective

1. directed toward a point in advance; moving ahead; onward.

   The chest-high snow made forward motion almost impossible.

   Antonyms:

   backward

2. being in a condition of advancement; well-advanced.

   It was quite forward in the season when we finished our planting.

3. presumptuous, impertinent, or bold.

   That girl is a rude, forward child.

   Synonyms:

   impudent, assuming

4. situated in the front or forepart.

   The bow is the forward part of the ship.

5. of or relating to the future; for the future or forward delivery.

   In August the hog packer was offering a forward price of $1.81/kg for hogs delivered in September.

   Synonyms:

   premature, future, preliminary, early

6. lying ahead or to the front.

   Take the forward path.

7. radical or extreme, as persons or opinions.

   The group represents a forward trend in liberal thought.

   Synonyms:

   progressive, unconventional

8. standing out from others (sometimes used in combination).

   These fashion-forward celebrities set the trends for the rest of us.

   Sage is an herb with a strong, forward flavor.

9. ready, prompt, or eager.

   Synonyms:

   zealous, earnest, willing

noun

• forwards
  plural

1. Sports.

   1. a player stationed in advance of others on a team.

   2. Football. a lineman.

   3. Basketball. either of two players stationed in the forecourt.

2. Finance. something bought, as a security, for future delivery.

verb (used with object)

• forwards,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forwarded,
  past participle,  past
• forwarding
  present participle

1. to send forward; transmit, especially to a new address.

   He asked me to forward his mail while he’s in Japan.

2. to advance or help onward; promote.

   The training will help to forward your career.

   Synonyms:

   foster, further

verb (used without object)

• forwards,
  present (3rd person singular)
• forwarded,
  past participle,  past
• forwarding
  present participle

1. to advance or play a cassette, digital recording, slide projector, etc., in the forward direction.

   Forward through the first few ballads to get to the dance tracks on this album.

verb phrase

1. put forward. put.

idioms

1. pay it forward. pay.

2. put one's best foot forward. foot.

forward British  

/ ˈfɔːwəd /

adjective

1. directed or moving ahead

2. lying or situated in or near the front part of something

3. presumptuous, pert, or impudent

   a forward remark

4. well developed or advanced, esp in physical, material, or intellectual growth or development

   forward ideas

5. archaic (often postpositive) ready, eager, or willing

6. 1. of or relating to the future or favouring change; progressive

   2. ( in combination )

      forward-looking

7. finance realting to fulfilment at a future date

8. (of an animal) in good condition

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noun

1. 1. an email that has been sent to one recipient and then forwarded to another

   2. (in American football) a lineman

2. an attacking player in any of various sports, such as soccer, hockey, or basketball

adverb

1. a variant of forwards

2. towards the front or bow of an aircraft or ship

3. into prominence or a position of being subject to public scrutiny; out; forth

   the witness came forward

verb

1. to send forward or pass on to an ultimate destination

   the letter was forwarded from a previous address

2. to advance, help, or promote

   to forward one's career

3. bookbinding to prepare (a book) for the finisher

forward More Idioms  

1. see backward and forward; carry forward; come forward; from this day forward; know like a book (backwards and forwards); look forward; put forward; put one's best foot forward; set forward.

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Synonym Usage

Forward, onward both indicate a direction toward the front or a movement in a frontward direction. Forward applies to any movement toward what is or is conceived to be the front or a goal: to face forward; to move forward in the aisles. Onward applies to any movement in continuance of a course: to march onward toward a goal. See bold.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overforwardness
  noun
• reforward
  verb (used with object)
• forwardable
  adjective
• overforward
  adjective
• forwardly
  adverb
• overforwardly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• forwards
  plural

Participles

• forwarding
  present
• forwarded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• forward
  simple
• forwards
  simple
• have forwarded
  perfect
• has forwarded
  perfect
• am forwarding
  progressive
• are forwarding
  progressive
• is forwarding
  progressive
• have been forwarding
  perfect progressive
• has been forwarding
  perfect progressive

Past

• forwarded
  simple
• had forwarded
  perfect
• was forwarding
  progressive
• were forwarding
  progressive
• had been forwarding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will forward
  simple
• will have forwarded
  perfect
• will be forwarding
  progressive
• will have been forwarding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of forward

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English for(e)weard; see fore ¹, -ward

Explanation

Forward is the direction ahead of you, or toward the front of something. It can also be a position on a basketball, soccer, or hockey team. Forward can be a direction of either space or time, and also implies progress. A forward-thinking person thinks about what will happen in the future. If you forward an email, you send it on to a new recipient. But if you forward a cause, that means you helped propel it to success. If you’re at a bar and someone tells you you’re being awfully forward, you’re probably coming on too strong.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forward forwards forwarded forwarding

The podcast host found no evidence that the All-NBA forward did any work for the company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle of British Transport Police also encouraged any potential survivors to step forward.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Instead, Cassidy continued, the vote should hinge on how Blanche “will go forward in a difficult job.”

From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026

Since his career began, Kelly had been pushing cine-dance forward, directing his first sequence and experimenting with double exposure in the “Alter Ego” dance for the 1944 film “Cover Girl.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

I’d been looking forward to a break between my Sandy June’s shift and the start of Picnic at six tonight.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Already one of Europe's most coveted young forwards when Manchester City signed him from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland had yet to reach the level he has in England.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Dominic Solanke and Mathys Tel are both natural central forwards, but neither provide the same ability to move seamlessly between the wing and the middle.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Gakpo continues to generate chances at an elite rate, gets into dangerous positions more frequently than almost any winger in Europe and offers tactical flexibility few forwards can match.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Now he is teasing what he calls a final attacking "bomba", with moves for two forwards expected, including one for Manchester City's Savinho.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

“Sometimes,” said the King, “I wish you had been born forwards like other people. What with Victorians and Mafeking Night...”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

That’s the view put forwarded by Deutsche Bank strategist Michael Hseuh, who reiterated the bank’s year-end call for gold to reach $4,600.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

According to the lawsuit, the federal government’s only formal communication with the county regarding the project was a one-paragraph letter dated June 21, 2023, and forwarded by an Elmwood Capital representative.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

Once your traffic reaches the VPN server, it has reached the end of the tunnel and needs to be decrypted before your requests can be forwarded to the site or service you’re attempting to access.

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026

Jeff had translated a recent Wall Street Journal opinion column—Matthew Hennessey’s “The Future is Not Chinese”—into Chinese and forwarded it to a WeChat group of his old high-school classmates back in China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

He simply did not want contact from anyone he didn’t know, and he made it quite clear, peremptorily, to Jack Collins that no mail—even important, flattering, or personal messages—should be forwarded to him.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

They found evidence that ChatGPT appeared to be “using forwarding looking information despite being asked not to.”

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

RXO is a large third-party logistics firm, or 3PL, brokering truck transportation, freight forwarding, and last-mile delivery for customers in an asset-light business model.

From Barron's ● May 7, 2026

In freight forwarding, the company said the business suffered from lower freight rates and currency effects, despite higher air and ocean freight volumes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

But Postal Service forwarding ends after a year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

Jonah noticed that some of the Winstons’ letters had those yellow forwarding stickers the post office used when people moved, covering an old address with the new one.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• address
• deliver
• dispatch
• express
• transmit