farther

adverb far·ther \ ˈfär-t͟hər \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of farther

1 : at or to a greater distance or more advanced point

got no farther than the first page

nothing could be farther from the truth

2 : to a greater degree or extent

see to it that I do not have to act any farther in the matter
—Bernard DeVoto

See farther defined for English-language learners

See farther defined for kids

farther vs. further

Farther and further have been used more or less interchangeably throughout most of their history, but currently they are showing signs of diverging. As adverbs they continue to be used interchangeably whenever spatial, temporal, or metaphorical distance is involved. But where there is no notion of distance, further is used.

- our techniques can be further refined

Further is also used as a sentence modifier

- further, the workshop participants were scarcely optimistic
- —L. B. Mayhew

, but farther is not. A polarizing process appears to be taking place in their adjective use. Farther is taking over the meaning of distance

- the farther shore

and further the meaning of addition.

- needed no further invitation

Examples of farther in a Sentence

It's farther away than I'd thought.
they had traveled farther down the Colorado River than any previous explorers

Recent Examples of farther from the Web

If the British had drawn the colonial border between what is now Myanmar and Bangladesh a little farther east and south, as Rohingya leaders had pleaded for after World War II, the biggest Rohingya areas would have been become part of Bangladesh.

— jeffrey gettleman, New York Times, "Fate of Stateless Rohingya Muslims Is in Antagonistic Hands," 3 Nov. 2017
One of his clients who wanted to find office space in the heart of SoHo was drawn farther east to the Bowery because the building spoke to the company’s image, Mr. Falk said.

— keiko morris, WSJ, "N.Y. Developer Treads in Unusual Neighborhoods," 22 Oct. 2017
There isn't a single good reason for the U.S. to build additional 53,000 nuclear weapons, and plenty of reasons to decrease the stockpile even farther from the current 6,800.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "A Tenfold Increase in Nukes Would Be a $15 Trillion Waste of Time," 11 Oct. 2017
In the meantime, expect delays Johnson said those are the near-term streets set to get two-way traffic, but that there are other one-way streets on the radar for conversion farther down the road.

— sheldon s. shafer, The Courier-Journal, "Downtown Louisville's Third Street could become two-way road north of Broadway," 22 Sep. 2017
In east-central Alabama rain totals could range from 1-3 inches, with higher amounts farther east.

— leigh morgan, AL.com, "Hurricane Irma: Tropical storm warnings and watches extended northward into Alabama," 10 Sep. 2017
There wasn’t much relief for buyers looking farther out.

— mike rosenberg, The Seattle Times, "King County home prices surge 18 percent, most on record for this time of year," 6 Sep. 2017
As people in the path of Irma prepare for the storm, and what is warned to be catastrophic damage, Hurricane Jose is forming farther out in the Atlantic.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "What to Know About Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia," 6 Sep. 2017
Companies want to build warehouses close to consumer hubs, but the malls most likely to shut down are farther afield.

— The Economist, "Part and parcelThe future of online retailing is bright," 26 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'farther.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of farther

Middle English ferther, alteration of further

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

farther Synonyms

Synonyms

beyond, further, yon, yonder;

farther

adjective

Definition of farther

1 : more distant : remoter

the farther side of town

2 : further 2

clearing his throat preparatory to farther revelations
—Edith Wharton

See farther defined for English-language learners

Examples of farther in a Sentence

the farther side of town
for farther information on this condition, you should consult your family physician

Recent Examples of farther from the Web

Three refineries in Corpus Christi and one farther inland at Three Rivers were shutting down ahead of the storm Supermarket shelves are also emptying fast as residents stock up on food, water and other essentials before Harvey strikes.

— jennifer michelle greenberg, Houston Chronicle, "Dickinson Shrine of the True Cross church, school make progress in Harvey recovery," 29 Mar. 2018
They're designed to shoot bullets actually at higher velocity over a farther distance with the goal of-- of a single shot traveling a long distance to kill an animal.

— NBC News, "Meet the Press -March 25, 2018," 25 Mar. 2018
The advisory remains in effect until 4:00 p.m. for the close-in north and west suburbs, and until 7 p.m. farther to the north and west (Fauqier, Loudoun, northern Montgomery and Frederick counties). 11:40 a.m.

— brian jackson, Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: A soggy, cold Super Bowl Sunday with patchy ice," 4 Feb. 2018
Through Tonight: There may be clearing into the night, especially farther west in the region.

— ian livingston, Washington Post, "PM Update: Turning milder through Thursday," 10 Jan. 2018
Seitz reportedly made a disparaging remark about Keller and her farther-right political leanings.

— jessie balmert, Cincinnati.com, "GOP Rep. Seitz apologizes for 'ill-advised commentary' that embarrassed Butler County colleague," 26 Jan. 2018
The pigs are having to hustle to find food, and that leads them to spent more time travelling across the landscape and moving farther distances that during other times of the year.

— shannon tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Late winter gives Texas hunters best shot at feral hogs," 24 Jan. 2018
Reached by phone in the frontier city of Tabatinga, Pereira said the expedition pushed on farther upriver to check on the status of the Arrow People.

— scott wallace, National Geographic, "Alleged Massacre of Uncontacted Tribe Linked to Gold Mining," 8 Dec. 2017
To direct a beam to the right, the array does the opposite, shifting the phase of the left-most elements ahead of those farther to the right.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "How the lidar-on-a-chip technology GM just bought probably works," 11 Oct. 2017