today
Americannoun
-
this present day.
Today is beautiful.
-
this present time or age.
the world of today.
adverb
-
on this present day.
I will do it today.
-
at the present time; in these days.
Today you seldom see horses.
adjective
noun
-
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.
The tale of Athenian overreach is better known today than its Spartan counterpart, largely because Thucydides, one of antiquity’s finest historians, captured it in his account of the Peloponnesian War, which began in 431 B.C.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
He noted that Mastercard successfully transitioned into the era of mobile commerce in the past and today has partnerships with agentic-AI innovators and cryptocurrency players.
From MarketWatch • May 25, 2026
All A.I. systems today are built around neural networks, which, despite their fanciful name, are just math formulas.
From Slate • May 25, 2026
The episode aired in 1948, but the idea is strangely valid today, except that it’s Elon Musk squaring off with himself.
From Barron's • May 24, 2026
“After I left for my lesson today? It wasn’t there before.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
