: backward and forward
also
: between two places or persons
Synonyms
Examples of back-and-forth in a Sentence
Adverb
The chair rocked back and forth.
The children were shuttled back and forth between school and home.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
With this in mind, Danda suggests parents keep their comments brief, which allows for more of a back-and-forth discussion and prevents the pitfall of the discussion from turning into a lecture.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 18 Apr. 2024
After some back-and-forth, Gosling’s character — wearing an electric blue shirt — agrees to sit somewhere else.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
As the back-and-forth continued, a resident who had an agenda item with a set start time approached the podium and interrupted the exchange.
—Tess Riski, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2024
The Derry Girls star said the back-and-forth was made more difficult because the two shows are very different.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
After three months of back-and-forth, I’m finally given a time to meet him on a gray day in early March at a coffee spot in east London.
—Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
In a back-and-forth final frame, Robinson’s and-1 and a bucket from Spencer cemented the victory.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
But in many ways, this particular back-and-forth bears little resemblance to the genre’s signature skirmishes of the past few decades.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
Local and federal officials in the Mexican state of Baja California and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are in chat groups with each other, texting back and forth about damage to the wall or sightings of migrants.
—David Culver, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pan gently back and forth every 5 minutes or so.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
After months of back and forth with Meta, the function was restored, Polanco said, but Meta never explained why it had been restricted.
—Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Initially, Myers was flying back and forth between California and Texas, making time to maintain a relationship with his son while still being there for his daughter (and his business) in Dallas.
—Nick Kasmik, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
There has been much back and forth since then, with Masimo unsuccessfully trying to force Politan to disclose who’s investing in its fund.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
After a year of back and forth, when Andrew decided to speak publicly about Epstein, Thirsk already had a rapport with McAlister.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Additionally, Transit Windsor will be expanding the hours of operation of its bus service to help shuttle visitors back and forth to the football festivities.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
The actress had a fun back-and-forth with Venus on social media earlier in the week, and at the top of the month, caught up with PEOPLE about who specifically inspired her performance in the film, directed by Luca Guadagnino.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
With this in mind, Danda suggests parents keep their comments brief, which allows for more of a back-and-forth discussion and prevents the pitfall of the discussion from turning into a lecture.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 18 Apr. 2024
After some back-and-forth, Gosling’s character — wearing an electric blue shirt — agrees to sit somewhere else.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
As the back-and-forth continued, a resident who had an agenda item with a set start time approached the podium and interrupted the exchange.
—Tess Riski, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2024
The Derry Girls star said the back-and-forth was made more difficult because the two shows are very different.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
After three months of back-and-forth, I’m finally given a time to meet him on a gray day in early March at a coffee spot in east London.
—Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
In a back-and-forth final frame, Robinson’s and-1 and a bucket from Spencer cemented the victory.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2024
But in many ways, this particular back-and-forth bears little resemblance to the genre’s signature skirmishes of the past few decades.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Texting photos and funny memes back and forth from your phone to hers would have been a good way to establish a connection.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
Local and federal officials in the Mexican state of Baja California and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are in chat groups with each other, texting back and forth about damage to the wall or sightings of migrants.
—David Culver, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pan gently back and forth every 5 minutes or so.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
After months of back and forth with Meta, the function was restored, Polanco said, but Meta never explained why it had been restricted.
—Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Initially, Myers was flying back and forth between California and Texas, making time to maintain a relationship with his son while still being there for his daughter (and his business) in Dallas.
—Nick Kasmik, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
There has been much back and forth since then, with Masimo unsuccessfully trying to force Politan to disclose who’s investing in its fund.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
After a year of back and forth, when Andrew decided to speak publicly about Epstein, Thirsk already had a rapport with McAlister.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
Additionally, Transit Windsor will be expanding the hours of operation of its bus service to help shuttle visitors back and forth to the football festivities.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'back-and-forth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near back-and-forth
Cite this Entry
“Back-and-forth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-and-forth. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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