forever
[ fawr-ev-er, fer- ]
/ fɔrˈɛv ər, fər- /
adverb
without ever ending; eternally: to last forever.
continually; incessantly; always: He's forever complaining.
lasting for an endless period of time: the process of finding a forever home for the dog.
noun
an endless or seemingly endless period of time: It took them forever to make up their minds.
Idioms for forever
forever and a day,
eternally; always: They pledged to love each other forever and a day.
Origin of forever
First recorded in 1300–50; orig. phrase
for ever
Words nearby forever
British Dictionary definitions for forever and a day
forever
/ (fɔːˈrɛvə, fə-) /
adverb
Also: for ever
without end; everlastingly; eternally
at all times; incessantly
informal
for a very long time
he went on speaking forever
noun
(as object) informal
a very long time
it took him forever to reply
…forever!
an exclamation expressing support or loyalty
Scotland forever!
usage for forever
Forever and
for ever can both be used to say that something is without end. For all other meanings,
forever is the preferred form
Idioms and Phrases with forever and a day
forever and a day
For a very long time, as in He's been working on that book forever and a day. This hyperbolic expression probably originated as a corruption of the now obsolete for ever and ay. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew (4:4): “Farewell for ever and a day.” Today it is mainly a substitute for “very long time.” [c. 1600]
Incessantly, ceaselessly, as in Will this racket never end? It's been going on forever and a day. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]