toward

preposition

to·ward | \ ˈtō-ərd

, ˈtȯ(-ə)rd

variants: or towards \ ˈtō-ərd(z)

, ˈtȯ(-ə)rd(z) , tə-ˈwȯrd(z) , ˈtwȯrd(z) \

Definition of toward

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : in the direction of driving toward town

2a : along a course leading to a long stride toward disarmament

b : in relation to an attitude toward life

3a : at a point in the direction of : near a cottage somewhere up toward the lake

b : in such a position as to be in the direction of your back was toward me

4 : not long before toward the end of the afternoon

5a : in the way of help or assistance in did all he could toward raising campaign funds

b : for the partial payment of proceeds go toward the establishment of a scholarship

toward

adjective

to·ward | \ ˈtō-ərd

, ˈtȯ(-ə)rd

Definition of toward (Entry 2 of 2)

1 or less commonly towards \ ˈtō-ərdz , ˈtȯ(-ə)rdz \ [ Middle English towardes, from Old English tōweardes, preposition, toward, from tōweard, adjective ]

a : coming soon : imminent

b : happening at the moment : afoot

2a obsolete : quick to learn : apt

b : propitious, favoring a toward breeze

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about toward

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of toward in a Sentence

Preposition

The bus is heading toward town. She took a step toward the door. They live out towards the edge of town. We're thinking of taking a vacation towards the end of the month. Efforts toward peace have been largely unsuccessful.

Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition

Nearly $200 million will go toward establishing a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, while local governments will get $12.5 million. — Geoff Mulvihill, The Seattle Times, "Maker of OxyContin agrees to $270M settlement in Oklahoma," 27 Mar. 2019 Actress Linda Hunt, who plays Hetty on the series, promised to return toward the end of this season and everyone’s hoping that this might be the time. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "'NCIS: LA' Reveals We're Finally Going to Find Out What's in the Box Kensi Gave Deeks," 17 Mar. 2019 The money will go toward upgrading the equipment, including adapting techniques from quantum mechanics to improve the lasers and taking advantage of new mirror coating technologies. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "LIGO Gravitational Wave Observatory Getting $30 Million Upgrade," 15 Feb. 2019 Promising new democracies in Hungary, Poland, Turkey and elsewhere have slid toward authoritarianism, and longstanding democracies in the West are being rattled by populists who often show little regard for democratic rules and individual rights. — Sheri Berman, WSJ, "The Long, Hard Road to Democracy," 8 Feb. 2019 This year, 2018, saw Hungary and Poland slink further toward authoritarianism. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "The 7 biggest foreign news stories to watch in 2019, from Brexit to North Korea," 24 Dec. 2018 The minimum investment is $101.15, and your money goes toward helping ModVans expand production. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "Camper van with removable components can sleep a family," 21 Nov. 2018 Google has a long way to go toward being a serious hardware competitor, and producing phones at a range of price points would open the company up to much more of the market. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "The mid-range Google Pixel appears in pictures—complete with headphone jack," 16 Nov. 2018 Kimora noted that Baby Phat will shift its focus toward millennials and Gen X customers, a plan that her daughters Ming Lee, 19, and Aoki Lee, 16, will no doubt help execute. — Jessica Andrews, Teen Vogue, "Kimora Lee Simmons’ Baby Phat Is Relaunching This Summer," 11 Mar. 2019

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