to-and-fro
[ too-uh n-froh ]
/ ˈtu ənˈfroʊ /
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 the wall,
to wake the dead, loud enough,
to whom it may concern,
to windward,
to wit,
to-and-fro,
to-be,
to-do,
to-do list,
to-name,
toad
Definition for to and fro (2 of 2)
fro
[ froh ]
/ froʊ /
adverb
Obsolete.
from; back.
Origin of fro
British Dictionary definitions for to and fro (1 of 3)
to and fro
adjective, adverb to-and-fro
back and forth
here and there
Derived forms of to and fro
toing and froing, nounBritish Dictionary definitions for to and fro (2 of 3)
Word Origin for fro
C12: from Old Norse
frā; related to Old English
fram
from
British Dictionary definitions for to and fro (3 of 3)
Idioms and Phrases with to and fro (1 of 2)
to and fro
Back and forth, as in He was like a caged animal, pacing to and fro. Strictly speaking, to means “toward” and fro “away from,” but this idiom is used more vaguely in the sense of “moving alternately in different directions.” [First half of 1300s]
Idioms and Phrases with to and fro (2 of 2)
fro
see to and fro.