forward

adjective for·ward \ ˈfȯr-wərd also ˈfō- or ˈfȯ- , Southern also ˈfär- \

Updated on: 10 Dec 2017

Definition of forward

1 a : near, being at, or belonging to the forepart

the forward section of the main deck

b : situated in advance

Baggage is carried in the forward cars of the train.

2 a : strongly inclined : ready

always forward to criticize his neighbors

b : lacking modesty or reserve : brash

Poorly disciplined children are often distressingly forward.

3 : notably advanced or developed : precocious

The child is very forward at walking.

4 : moving, tending, or leading toward a position in front

checked the forward movement of the dog

; also : moving toward an opponent's goal

5 a : advocating an advanced policy in the direction of what is considered progress

a firm forward policy

b : extreme, radical

on the forward fringe of conservatism

6 : of, relating to, or getting ready for the future

forward buying of produce

—

forwardly

adverb

—

forwardness

noun

See forward defined for English-language learners

See forward defined for kids

Examples of forward in a Sentence

the forward deck of a boat
the forward movement of history
a very forward young woman

Recent Examples of forward from the Web

The Alumni received 15 points from forward Christian Leckband (2012-16) and 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting from forward Shane Bannarbie (2001-03).

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Seawolves thump Alumni in men’s basketball exhibition game," 29 Oct. 2017
Then starting small forward Danilo Gallinari (sprained left foot) and forward Sam Dekker (strained left oblique) got injured in the second game in Hawaii.

— broderick turner, latimes.com, "What we learned from the Clippers' preseason — despite all the injuries," 14 Oct. 2017
In soccer, Hai is a goal scorer who plays in forward positions, always keeping his eyes trained on the ball and chance to put one past a goalkeeper.

— marcos bretón, sacbee, "‘I don’t care about height’: This fearless Sacramento kid transcends the ‘m-word’ | The Sacramento Bee," 13 Oct. 2017
One intriguing dynamic to keep an eye on Wednesday and throughout the preseason is how the point-forward works with a pair of new points guards in Darren Collison and especially second-stringer Cory Joseph.

— jim ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Nate McMillan: Pacers preseason opener will shed light on ‘what we are’," 3 Oct. 2017
Sina shares are trading at 39.5 times the company’s forward earnings, while Weibo is trading at 55 times its forward earnings, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

— julie steinberg, WSJ, "Hedge Fund Launches Proxy Fight Against China’s Sina," 19 Sep. 2017
The Fit now offers advanced safety features, including forward collision warning and a lane-keeping system that automatically keeps the car in its lane.

— tom krisher, The Seattle Times, "Big sellers like Toyota Camry, Ram getting updates in 2018," 5 Sep. 2017
Featuring architectural pleats and subtle draping throughout the bosom, along with black fabric lining in the skirt, the jumpsuit/dress hybrid basically made the supermodel look like a fashion-forward space princess.

— gina mei, Seventeen, "Gigi Hadid Wore the Weirdest Jumpsuit You've Ever Seen to the British Fashion Awards," 6 Dec. 2016
From there, Amoruso built it into a corporation with 300 employees, a cool, new Los Angeles office, and a cult-like following of fashion-forward shoppers looking for new and vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories.

— melissa bykofsky, Marie Claire, "How to Score a Job at Nasty Gal," 7 July 2014

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

Origin and Etymology of forward

Middle English, from Old English foreweard, from fore- + -weard -ward

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

forward Synonyms

Synonyms

bold, familiar, presumptuous, free, immodest, overfamiliar, presuming

Antonyms

modest, unassuming

Near Antonyms

demure, down-to-earth, humble, lowly, meek, unassertive, unpretentious; bashful, mousy (or mousey), retiring, shy, timid, timorous; diffident, self-doubting

forward

adverb

Definition of forward

: to or toward what is ahead or in front

from that time forward

moved slowly forward

See forward defined for English-language learners

Examples of forward in a Sentence

Her long hair fell forward as she bent to tie her shoes.
He pushed the throttle forward.
She took a small step forward.
The narrative moves backward and forward in time.
The technology has taken a big step forward.

Recent Examples of forward from the Web

Cultural stigma against diseases that some falsely believe to be weaknesses of character prevent people from coming forward for trials — a problem when there are no good animal models for diseases like depression and schizophrenia.

— joanne silberner, Discover Magazine, "A Global State of Mind," 13 Nov. 2017
The history on this issue couldn’t be clearer: Large companies use forced arbitration to stop valid legal claims from going forward.

— ron wyden, Fortune, "Sen. Ron Wyden: Republicans Gave Away Your Right to Fight Corrupt Banks," 5 Nov. 2017
Star striker Robert Lewandowski also had his say on proceedings, the Polish star seeing that Bayern and Dortmund's strengths are going forward.

— SI.com, "Jupp Heynckes Proud of '100% Motivated' Bayern After Der Klassiker Win in Dortmund," 5 Nov. 2017
But in other spots, that arm is clearly calling the masses to rise up and go forward.

— Washington Post, "100 years after Russian revolution, Lenin statues abound," 5 Nov. 2017
Should we get used to seeing a whole new set of kids that will be part of the show going forward?

— jessica radloff, Glamour, "'This Is Us' Star Mandy Moore Reveals What's Next for Kate and Rebecca and the Big Three as Toddlers," 2 Nov. 2017
If white supremacy will be named as the perennial problem of American life going forward, the Founders must eventually fall.

— michael brendan dougherty, National Review, "The Next Lost Cause," 1 Nov. 2017
If white supremacy will be named as the perennial problem of American life going forward, the Founders must eventually fall.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "No, Removing Monuments to Traitors Doesn’t Mean Removing Monuments to Founders," 1 Nov. 2017
Whoever wrote that should just come forward and tell me.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Stranger Things Star Joe Keery Knows Exactly Which Steve Moment Will Become a Meme This Season," 31 Oct. 2017

Origin and Etymology of forward

see ¹forward

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

forward Synonyms

Synonyms

ahead, forth, along, forwards, on, onward (also onwards)

Related Words

before, fore, frontward (or frontwards)

Near Antonyms

back, backward (or backwards), behind, rearward (also rearwards)

forward

verb

Definition of forward

transitive verb

1 : to help onward : promote

forwarded his friend's career

2 a : to send forward : transmit

will forward the goods on receipt of your check

b : to send or ship onward from an intermediate post or station in transit

forward mail

See forward defined for English-language learners

Examples of forward in a Sentence

Your letter will be forwarded to the appropriate department.
Please forward my mail to my new address.

Recent Examples of forward from the Web

Two retired army officers then filed a police complaint, which police forwarded to a military court prosecutor on Oct. 9.

— james hookway, WSJ, "Royal Rumble: An Ancient Elephant Battle and Thailand’s March Toward Autocracy," 24 Oct. 2017
The suspect had reportedly sent the letter directly to the judge, who later forwarded it to Kardashian's legal team.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kim Kardashian Reportedly Received an Apology Letter from Her Paris Robber," 28 Sep. 2017
Much of the information released Tuesday consists of documentation of emails received and forwarded about phone conversations.

— mary ellen klas, carol marbin miller and daniel chang, miamiherald, "When elders are in peril, who do you call — 911 or Rick Scott’s cell?," 20 Sep. 2017
Since then, the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 27 voted 31-0 to continue the grants, which forwards the matter to the House.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Moving ahead on Northgate Station," 19 Sep. 2017
In August, Dowd was criticized for forwarding an email praising Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

— dave clark, Cincinnati.com, "John Dowd and Ty Cobb talk anything but hits, Pete Rose over lunch," 18 Sep. 2017
Whenever Kimmel asked about Trump's escapades, Spicer conjured a media demon that was supposedly equal, or forwarded the notion that everyone—and therefore no one—is to blame for this mess.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Sean Spicer Hasn't Learned Any Lessons Since Leaving the White House," 14 Sep. 2017
The amendments could be passed by the Senate as soon as Tuesday and forwarded to the Assembly for consideration later this week.

— jeff mcdonald, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Power play: Electric grid plan resurfaces at end of session," 11 Sep. 2017
Other candidates: left back DaMarcus Beasley, midfielders Paul Arriola, Kellyn Acosta and Alejandro Bedoya, and forwards Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris.

— steven goff, chicagotribune.com, "U.S. men's national team heads to Honduras feeling some self-inflicted pressure," 3 Sep. 2017

Origin and Etymology of forward

see ¹forward

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1596

See Words from the same year

forward Synonyms

Synonyms

advance, cultivate, encourage, foster, further, incubate, nourish, nurse, nurture, promote

Antonyms

discourage, frustrate, hinder, inhibit

Related Words

advocate, back, champion, endorse (also indorse), support, uphold; endow, finance, fund, patronize, stake, subsidize, underwrite; abet, aid, assist; advertise, boost, plug, publicize, tout; agitate (for), campaign (for), work (for)

Near Antonyms

ban, bar, enjoin, forbid, interdict, outlaw, prevent, prohibit, proscribe; battle, combat, contend (with), counter, fight, oppose; repress, snuff (out), squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress; arrest, check, halt, retard; encumber, fetter, hobble, impede, interfere (with), manacle, obstruct, shackle

Synonym Discussion of forward

advance, promote, forward, further mean to help (someone or something) to move ahead. advance stresses effective assisting in hastening a process or bringing about a desired end.

- advance the cause of peace

promote suggests an encouraging or fostering and may denote an increase in status or rank.

- a campaign to promote better health

forward implies an impetus forcing something ahead.

- a wage increase would forward productivity

further suggests a removing of obstacles in the way of a desired advance.

- used the marriage to further his career

forward

noun

Definition of forward

: a player who plays at the front the team's formation near the opponent's goal

a forward in hockey

See forward defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of forward from the Web

Davidson played without forwards Nathan Ekwu and Will Magarity, both of whom continue to recover from knee injuries.

— david scott, charlotteobserver, "Freshman steps into Jack Gibbs’ lineup spot, leads Davidson Wildcats to preseason win," 3 Nov. 2017
And then another question: Do freshman forwards Malik Williams and Lance Thomas adjust to the physicality of the college game and impact their team right away? 5.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "Five questions facing the 2017-18 Louisville men's basketball team," 1 Nov. 2017
But the idea of bringing forwards Makil Bridges and Eric Paschall, two fourth-year juniors, off the bench is certainly interesting.

— mike kern, Philly.com, "First impressions on Villanova's scrimmage against Drexel," 1 Nov. 2017
Second-year guard-forward Jaylen Brown has helped make up for Hayward's absence, averaging 17.3 points.

— matt velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Bucks 103, Hornets 94: Khris Middleton's 3 is clutch," 23 Oct. 2017
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images When Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward jumped up for an alley-oop on Tuesday night, the 2017 NBA season was six minutes old.

— nick greene, Slate Magazine, "The Snap Heard ’Round the World," 19 Oct. 2017
Four seconds pass as the front tire slowly climbs over Pally and pushes her forward.

— vinny vella, courant.com, "Surveillance Video, Records Offer New Perspective On UConn Student's 2016 Death," 15 Sep. 2017
Our young forward line has great potential with feisty play, hard shots and quick stick work.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "2017 high school field hockey preview," 1 Sep. 2017
Feather details have become a common occurrence for the aisle, but choosing silhouettes that use them whimsically is more fashion-forward than a frothy ball skirt.

— christian oth, Harper's BAZAAR, "17 Non-Traditional Gowns For the Renegade Bride," 17 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of forward

see ¹forward

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1879

See Words from the same year

FORWARD Defined for English Language Learners

forward

adjective

Definition of forward for English Language Learners

: near or belonging to the front part of something
: moving or directed ahead or toward the front
: moving toward the future or toward a more advanced state or condition

forward

adverb

Definition of forward for English Language Learners

: toward the front : to or toward what is ahead or in front
: toward the future
: to or toward a more advanced state or condition

forward

verb

Definition of forward for English Language Learners

: to send (something you have received, such as a letter) to someone else
: to send (something that has arrived, such as a letter) to another place
: to help (something) make progress or continue to a more advanced state

forward

noun

Definition of forward for English Language Learners

sports : a player who plays near the opponent's goal

FORWARD Defined for Kids

forward

adjective for·ward \ ˈfȯr-wərd \

Definition of forward for Students

1 : near, at, or belonging to the front part

a ship's forward deck

2 : moving, tending, or leading to a position in front

He made a sudden forward movement.

3 : lacking proper modesty or reserve

forward

adverb

variants: or forwards \ˈfȯr-wərdz\

Definition of forward for Students

: to or toward what is in front

Everyone moved forward.

forward

verb

Definition of forward for Students

forwarded; forwarding

1 : to send on or ahead

forward a letter

2 : to help onward : advance

forward a cause

forward

noun

Definition of forward for Students

: a player at or near the front of his or her team or near the opponent's goal

Law Dictionary

forward

noun for·ward

legal Definition of forward

: forward contract at contract

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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forward

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