to
/tə
/ /tʊ / /tuː /preposition
1Expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location): walking down to the shops my first visit to Africa we’re going to a party...
- He actually dropped to the ground just as a giant pickup rolled over him.
- They commissioned GAD Architecture, a firm founded in Turkey that has since moved to New York.
- Emlyn loudly exited the hotel and went to the station for the Bristol train.
1.1Expressing location, typically in relation to a specified point of reference: forty miles to the south of the site place the cursor to the left of the first word...
- The family room to the right of the entrance hall has an unusual colour scheme.
- The landlocked country is dominated by the rugged Hindu Kush mountains that sweep from the west to the east.
- It was 850 miles to Singapore Harbor.
1.2Expressing a point reached at the end of a range or after a period of time: a drop in profits from £105 m to around £75 m from 1938 to 1945...
- The two books covers the dance band era from the 1930s to the 1960s.
- Prospectors arrived by land or sea and usually operated in groups of six to forty, working claims jointly.
- Another eight to ten million square feet of exhibition space is scheduled to come on line within five years.
1.3chiefly British (In telling the time) before (the hour specified): it’s five to ten...
- I was awake at ten to six, at the gym by 6:30.
- It's twenty to one in the morning, and I'm beat.
- Apologies followed, and at five to three the belated ceremony commenced to the relief of all concerned.
2Approaching or reaching (a particular condition): Christopher’s expression changed from amazement to joy she was close to tears...
- The children cry themselves to sleep from hunger.
- Shackleton's southern party passed the previous ‘furthest south’ record set by Scott, but by January 2 Shackleton was near to breaking point.
- Can we ever know if an image moved large numbers of people to action, or changed the ways they think about things?
2.1Expressing the result of a process or action: smashed to smithereens...
- If you buy a pair of trainers and they fall to bits, you won't buy them again.
- One had taken a camcorder from someone and proceeded to smash it to pieces.
2.2Governing a phrase expressing someone’s reaction to something: to her astonishment, he smiled...
- Much to his surprise, this small film has turned out to have wide appeal.
- To our dismay, unknown to us there was a motel only three kilometres down the road.
- I got 98% in the test but to my annoyance, Janet got 100%.
3Identifying the person or thing affected by or receiving something: you were terribly unkind to her they donated £400 to the hospice I am deeply grateful to my parents...
- I am thankful to Anna and her program for my rehabilitation.
- When I got out of prison a couple of years ago he actually was very kind to me.
- I wish you hadn't drawn attention to it.
4Identifying a particular relationship between one person and another: he is married to his cousin Emma he’s economic adviser to the president...
- She's now very happily engaged to a famous actor.
- Alberto is single, while Ernesto is committed to his pretty, aristocratic girlfriend.
- She was also special assistant to the cultural affairs commissioner in 1987.
4.1Used in various phrases to indicate how something is related to something else (often followed by a noun without a determiner): made to order a prelude to disaster...
- You can even have your ideal leather coat made to measure by a leather specialist.
- Letting anyone into a country without proper identification and background checks is an invitation to chaos.
- There's a buffet at lunchtime, with plenty of good salads and dips, or the chef will cook a stir-fry to order.
4.2Indicating a rate of return on something, for example the distance travelled in exchange for fuel used: my car only does ten miles to the gallon...
- The peso breached 50 to the dollar, plunging the country further into crisis.
- The petrol version will do 16.2 miles to the gallon around town.
- If you fly into wind you will get much less mileage to the litre.
4.3 (to the) Mathematics Indicating the power (exponent) to which a number is raised: ten to the minus thirty-three...
- The smallest scale postulated is the Planck scale of 10 to the minus 33rd power for length and 10 to the minus 43rd of a second for time.
- This is a septillion (10 to the power of 24) times longer than the current age of the universe (about 10 billion years).
5Indicating that two things are attached or linked: he had left his dog tied to a drainpipe they are inextricably linked to this island...
- This dead-end dirt road follows a peaceful stretch of the Housatonic River and connects to the Appalachian Trail.
- It is in the phone company's interest to get more homes linked to the Internet at very high rates of speed.
- On the other corner, a dozen or so balloons are tied to a pole.
6Concerning or likely to concern (something): a threat to world peace a reference to Psalm 22:18...
- They raise the specter of technology as a danger to humanity.
- Louis was required to renounce all claim to the English throne and to restore the charters of liberties granted by King John.
- Although the film contains no direct references to the war, it surely is an allegory on World War II.
7Used to introduce the second element in a comparison: the club’s nothing to what it once was...
- Tom told him a story about a parolee who stole a car to get back into jail because he preferred it to home.
- It is simply that I think women are superior to men.
- This kid is an angel compared to me though and has never been any trouble.
8Placed before a debit entry in accounting.
infinitiveMarker
1Used with the base form of a verb to indicate that the verb is in the infinitive, in particular:
1.1Expressing purpose or intention: I set out to buy food I am going to tell you a story...
- I went to get help and by the time I got back he had stopped breathing.
- Next time I am going to box differently with regard to speed and power.
- Thieves attempted to gain entry into the cafe on Saturday morning.
1.2Expressing an outcome or result: she was left to die I managed to escape...
- I decided to stay away from the crowd but close enough to hear the speakers.
- It's too cold to get out of bed.
- I have always dreamt about earning a living playing polo, and I think I am managing to achieve it.
1.3Expressing a cause: I’m sorry to hear that...
- I'm really pleased to be here.
- He was shocked to discover the alleged activities at the university.
- I was so sorry to read her column slandering the film industry.
1.4Indicating a desired or advisable action: I’d love to go to France this summer the leaflet explains how to start a course...
- There is also information on where to find help with insulation and central heating.
- She's asked him to seek counseling.
- I want to show everybody I am stronger than he is.
1.5Indicating a proposition that is known, believed, or reported about a specified person or thing: a house that people believed to be haunted...
- Up to seven million people are thought to have been affected.
- To many, she was considered to be a modern Audrey Hepburn with her impeccable style, grace and elegance.
- It's a plant whose leaves are said to have many medicinal qualities.
1.6 (about to) Forming a future tense with reference to the immediate future: he was about to sing...
- This news arrived just as a ceasefire was about to come into effect.
- Allan's about to get married - he's in Venice organising his pre-nuptial agreement!
1.7After a noun, indicating its function or purpose: a chair to sit on something to eat...
- We don't have any water to drink.
- He's going to a cabaret, and he has absolutely nothing to wear.
- They see no sun in their limited lives, with no hay to lie on, no mud to roll in.
1.8After a phrase containing an ordinal number: the first person to arrive...
- Paula Wolfert was the last to speak and her slides were of various clay pots and dishes.
- Young male adults were the first to leave, out of fear of being forced to serve in the military.
- She is the second African-American to hold the post.
2Used without a verb following when the missing verb is clearly understood: he asked her to come but she said she didn’t want to...
- As much as I didn't want to go, I had to.
- It is your choice if you smoke or not but I think everyone would benefit if we made an effort not to.
- I don't want this moment to end, but it's got to.
adverb
So as to be closed or nearly closed: he pulled the door to behind him...
- I went in and pulled the door to.
Origin
Old English tō (adverb and preposition), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch toe and German zu.