today
Americannoun
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todays
plural
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this present day.
Today is beautiful.
-
this present time or age.
the world of today.
adverb
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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
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during or on this day
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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:
Most debit and credit cards today have microchips that boost antifraud security, and many allow tap-to-pay, the safest method.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
"Zoe proved today that she deserves to be up there racing with the elites," British rider Hayley Simmonds told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
"Anyone walking into Brighton today compared to even 15 years ago would not think it was the same football club," sporting director Mike Cave told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Phobos is unusual not only because of its mysterious past, but also because of what is happening to it today.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
That’s why I couldn’t hide my annoyed surprise when he told us that he needed our help here again today.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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
They want to chop the task into a series of todays.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2017
“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.
