today
Americannoun
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this present day.
Today is beautiful.
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this present time or age.
the world of today.
adverb
-
on this present day.
I will do it today.
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at the present time; in these days.
Today you seldom see horses.
adjective
noun
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this day, as distinct from yesterday or tomorrow
-
the present age
children of today
adverb
-
during or on this day
-
nowadays
Etymology
Origin of today
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English tō dæg; see to, day
Explanation
Use today to mean this day, right now—not yesterday, and not tomorrow. If your big science project is due today and you haven't even started, you'd better get busy! Today can also mean "at the present period of time." When someone says, "Kids spend too much time online today," they mean "nowadays," or "lately," not literally on this exact day. Before the 16th century, today was two separate words, to day, and then for another three hundred years or so, it was hyphenated: to-day. But today, we simply use today.
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.
Milk is another everyday essential that's gone up, from £1.29 for four pints of semi-skimmed in 2022 to £1.65 today, according to Assosia's data on supermarket budget ranges.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
That would make it about 20% of the country’s total e-commerce market, compared with about 8% today.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
“Our focus and priority today is on working with emergency services and the relevant authorities to address the issue at hand and protect the local community,” the spokesperson added.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
Historically, private equity has been a big part of family offices and it has been growing from about 25%-35% a decade ago to more like 50% for some family offices today, De Vita says.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
Lexie won today, but I didn’t tell her.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
