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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
“Amazing profile of me today on Nightline,” he writes at one point.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
This helped create an archive that scientists still use today, complete with grass that is 170 years old.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"What we have today, by all indicators, is a much sounder picture" since 2023, Georgieva told a joint press conference with Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
If his mother were still alive today, he says, she would be out on the streets, encouraging every eligible American to exercise their right to vote, in spite of Callais.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
“For your photograph. Get it taken today, and buy as many prints as you can.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
He said the men who served in the war "gave their todays for our tomorrows".
From BBC ● May 7, 2025
The Glenwood Fire Department in Minnesota posted, “Please keep the blue lights shining to show our support of not only our local law enforcement, but also those affected by todays events!”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
“Competitive products at a similar entry level price-point are offering up to a maximum of 4GB of VRAM, which is evidently not enough for todays games.”
From The Verge ● Jan. 19, 2022
Apparently this is a lost art in todays colleges.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2018
“Maybe,” Cady said slowly, glancing outside at the beautifully foggy morning, “maybe todays the day I’ll meet my family.”
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
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.
