back and forth

/ˈbæ.kənˌfɔːθ/

back and forth adverb: from one place to another and back again.

Adverb

back and forth (not comparable)

From one place to another and back again.
- One frigid November evening, the mood was buoyant as two dozen mostly older Chinatown residents poured into the center. One by one, they tossed their parkas on chairs and took turns at the karaoke machine. Soon, the room was alive with people dancing and singing under a haze of blue strobe lights....2026 March 24, Chris Serres, Danny McDonald, Mable Chan, The Boston Globe, retrieved 31 May 2026
Synonyms:

backwards and forwards
Flip-flopping between multiple options, courses of action, etc.

Adjective

back and forth (not comparable)

Going from one place or position to another and back again.
- The back and forth movement of the tide causes erosion of the coastline.

Verb

back and forth (third-person singular simple present back and forths, present participle back and forthing, simple past and past participle back and forthed)

To go repeatedly in one direction, then the opposite, or to switch one's mind between two options repeatedly.

Noun

back and forth (countable and uncountable, plural back and forths)

The movement (of someone or something) forward followed by a return to the same position. May refer to a concept such as an emotional state or a relationship as well as a physical thing.
- Roll the ball to your child, who then rolls it back to you. After a few back-and-forths, roll the ball to a nearby corner of the room or other hiding place.2009, Dorothy Rich with Beverly Mattox, Megaskills for Babies, Toddlers, and Beyond: Building Your Child's Happiness, page 43
Negotiations or discussions (not necessarily fruitful) between two or more parties; a dialog.
- There's some back and forth between Simpson and his CIA counterparts and, in essence, the CIA says that you must ship all of the quantities requested.1895, United States Congress, “Congressional serial set”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 11214, page 718
- It was months and months of back and forth, ah-ah, ah-ah
  You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore2014 October 27, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap, “Clean (Taylor's Version)”, in 1989 (Taylor's Version), performed by Taylor Swift, published 27 October 2023
Synonyms:

tug of war

back and forth meaning in Tagalog, Arabic and Vietnamese

back and forth in Tagalog

from one place to another and back again: pabalik-balik

back and forth in Arabic

from one place to another and back again: ذَهَابًا وَإِيَابًا ḏahāban wa-ʔiyāban

back and forth in Vietnamese

from one place to another and back again: tới lui

Synonyms of back and forth

Forms of back and forth

Adverb
alternative form	back-and-forth
Verb
third-person singular present	back and forths
present participle	back and forthing
past participle	back and forthed
past	back and forthed
Noun
plural	back and forths

Questions about back and forth

What does back and forth mean?: Back and forth means from one place to another and back again.
What is back and forth in Tagalog?: Back and forth in Tagalog is pabalik-balik. See Back and forth meaning in Tagalog.
What part of speech is back and forth?: Back and forth can be an adverb, an adjective, a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce back and forth?: Back and forth is pronounced /ˈbæ.kənˌfɔːθ/.

Words near back and forth in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: back and forth (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-back and forth.wav.

Cite this entry: “back and forth.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/back_and_forth. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.