to-and-fro

[ too-uhn-froh ]

/ ˈtu ənˈfroʊ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR to-and-fro ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

back-and-forth: to-and-fro motion.

noun, plural to-and-fros.

a continuous or regular movement backward and forward; an alternating movement, flux, flow, etc.: the to-and-fro of the surf.

Origin of to-and-fro

First recorded in 1820–30; adj. and noun use of adv. phrase to and (fro) (def. 2)

Words nearby to-and-fro

to a fare-thee-well, to a fault, to all intents and purposes, to a man, Toamasina, to-and-fro, toast, toaster, toaster oven, toasting fork, toastmaster

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for to-and-fro

After a few hours of to-and-fro with his commander, the squad was given permission to do what they wanted with him.
Syria: From the Gap to the Firing Squad|The Telegraph|August 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Both the milk and the water chambers were provided with mechanical agitators having a to-and-fro movement.
Outlines of Dairy Bacteriology, 8th edition|H. L. Russell
What is that to-and-fro between one who knows and one who does not?
Herein is Love|Reuel L. Howe
M. Marey says that the wing in its to-and-fro movements is bent in various directions by the resistance of the air.
Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions Including Trick Photography|Albert A. Hopkins

Then suddenly upon this long period of to-and-fro, there fell (as it were) the very calmness of reconciliation.
The Dew of Their Youth|S. R. Crockett
With this was sent a whip, thus establishing a to-and-fro communication.
The Pillar of Light|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for to-and-fro

to and fro

adjective, adverb to-and-fro

back and forth

here and there

Derived forms of to and fro

toing and froing, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with to-and-fro