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• to-and-fro
  to-and-fro

  adjective

  back-and-forth.
• to and fro
  to and fro

  adjective

  back and forth

to-and-fro

American  

[too-uhn-froh] / ˈtu ənˈfroʊ /

adjective

1. back-and-forth.

   to-and-fro motion.

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noun

to-and-fros plural

1. a continuous or regular movement backward and forward; an alternating movement, flux, flow, etc..

   the to-and-fro of the surf.

to and fro British  

adjective

1. back and forth

2. here and there

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to and fro Idioms  

1. Back and forth, as in He was like a caged animal, pacing to and fro. Strictly speaking, to means “toward” and fro “away from,” but this idiom is used more vaguely in the sense of “moving alternately in different directions.” [First half of 1300s]

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• toing and froing
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• to-and-fros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of to-and-fro

First recorded in 1820–30; adj. and noun use of adv. phrase to and (fro) ( def. 2 )

Example Sentences

Slogans are easy, and they sound really tough, but it’s a little different when you get into the to-and-fro.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2025

Russian officials did not confirm those Ukrainian gains, which were impossible to verify and could be reversed in the to-and-fro of war.

From Washington Times • Jun. 13, 2023

It's not like in America where you have that public to-and-fro.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2021

Once in a while, the to-and-fro produces a comedic masterstroke.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2020

There is far less to-and-fro movement between the different groups than happened under capitalism or even in the pre-industrial ages.

From "1984" by George Orwell