to-ing and fro-ing

noun

plural to-ings and fro-ings
: a passing back and forth

Examples of to-ing and fro-ing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Then there’s Sarah’s fatigue with hard-to-please customers in her decorator business, seen in repeated to-ing and fro-ing to find the right wall sconce. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Jan. 2023 There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, but Peter Straughan is a very clever screenwriter, and his first draft was very, very sound. Hillary Kelly, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2022 But there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and eventually, some sort of resolution was reached. Gary Graff, cleveland, 23 Sep. 2022 There’s some excellent Albee-esque relational to-ing and fro-ing among Roy, Carl and Shannon, the wife Carl brings to Os from Canada. Richard Lipez, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2020 Still, all the to-ing and fro-ing in splendid carriages was free for oohing and aahing to anyone who could crowd along the procession route. Patt Morrison, latimes.com, 17 May 2018 Monday’s development follows much to-ing and fro-ing between Standard Bank and the South African authorities. Renee Bonorchis, Bloomberg.com, 18 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'to-ing and fro-ing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

to and fro

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of to-ing and fro-ing was in 1847

Dictionary Entries Near to-ing and fro-ing

Cite this Entry

“To-ing and fro-ing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to-ing%20and%20fro-ing. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!