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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

Nouns

• 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

See Examples For:

to-and-fro to and fro

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

When the ground began to shake, rocking her bed to-and-fro like a raft in a current, Temilade Openiyi briefly wondered if she was dreaming.

From New York Times ● May 23, 2024

Spine rattling to-and-fro against the rhythms of the road.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2024

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

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

The autumn operation exposed flaws too: The land couldn’t accommodate all the vehicles, said Lemmermann, and it consisted of noncontiguous plots, forcing Rheinmetall to bus soldiers to and fro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025

Thankfully, after a bit of to and fro, they did let a few broadcast cameras in so we could watch outside and you could watch too, if you chose to.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025

Shelters have been opened for those displaced from their homes, and helicopters were flying to and fro to bring essentials to people cut off from the rest of the world.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025

De Jaen jiggers a handle on top of the gray box, which tilts the glass to and fro.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

He liked the “s-s-sh-shing” sound of feet on stone, as the monks passed to and fro.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli