heretofore
Americanadverb
adverb
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of heretofore
1300–50; Middle English heretoforn, equivalent to here here + toforn, Old English tōforan ( tō to + foran before; fore 1 )
Explanation
When someone says heretofore, they're describing things that have happened up to the present moment. This formal word means "thus far" and often appears in legal or other official documents. This is an old-fashioned word, but it refers to something timeless — events in the past that have gone on until now. To sell a new shoe, an advertiser could say, "Heretofore, there has never been a shoe like this." After a disaster, someone could say, "Heretofore, we never experienced such a catastrophe." This word draws a line in the sand between the past and the present. This word means about the same as as yet and until now.
Vocabulary lists containing heretofore
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards
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Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
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Votes for Women!
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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.
Some of America’s best-known consumer companies, including UnitedHealth Group, Target, Best Buy, 3M and General Mills have chosen the windy, cold and snowy — but heretofore tranquil — state for their headquarters.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026
A management pratfall to spoil Netflix’s heretofore reputation as a maker of smart moves?
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
“We want to take the heretofore somewhat passive experience of going into a theater, and we want to expand that and give people a chance to do other things and have fun,” Brein said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 14, 2024
Dowd’s profile also breaks a heretofore never-revealed account about a sequence where The Bride is shown driving what turned out to be a mechanically unsound Karmann Ghia on her way to fulfill the title's promise.
From Salon • Oct. 29, 2023
A heretofore quiescent problem was suddenly catapulted into the national consciousness.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
