Showing results for -wards. Search instead for to wards.

-wards

American

variant of -ward.

towards; afterwards.

-wards British

suffix

indicating direction towards Compare -ward

a step backwards
to sail shorewards

"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

Spelling

See -ward.

Usage

What does -wards mean? The suffix -wards is used to mean "in the direction of," either in time or space. It is often used in everyday and technical terms. The form -wards comes from Old English -weardes, meaning “towards.”What are variants of -wards?The suffix -wards is more common in British English. In North American English, the variant -ward, as in toward, is more commonly used. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on -ward.

Etymology

Origin of -wards

Middle English; Old English -weardes, equivalent to -weard toward ( see ward) + -es -s ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023