Vocabulary     

What does forward mean?

Definitions for forward
ˈfɔr wərdfor·ward

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word forward.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. forwardnoun

    the person who plays the position of forward in certain games, such as basketball, soccer, or hockey

  2. forwardadjective

    a position on a basketball, soccer, or hockey team

  3. forwardadjective

    at or near or directed toward the front

    "the forward section of the aircraft"; "a forward plunge down the stairs"; "forward motion"

  4. forwardadjective

    used of temperament or behavior; lacking restraint or modesty

    "a forward child badly in need of discipline"

  5. forwardadjective

    of the transmission gear causing forward movement in a motor vehicle

    "in a forward gear"

  6. advancing, forward, forward-movingverb

    moving forward

  7. forward, send onadverb

    send or ship onward from an intermediate post or station in transit

    "forward my mail"

  8. forward, forwards, frontward, frontwards, forrad, forrardadverb

    at or to or toward the front

    "he faced forward"; "step forward"; "she practiced sewing backward as well as frontward on her new sewing machine"; (`forrad' and `forrard' are dialectal variations)

  9. forth, forward, onwardadverb

    forward in time or order or degree

    "from that time forth"; "from the sixth century onward"

  10. ahead, forwardadverb

    toward the future; forward in time

    "I like to look ahead in imagination to what the future may bring"; "I look forward to seeing you"

  11. ahead, onward, onwards, forward, forwards, forraderadverb

    in a forward direction

    "go ahead"; "the train moved ahead slowly"; "the boat lurched ahead"; "moved onward into the forest"; "they went slowly forward in the mud"

  12. fore, forwardadverb

    near or toward the bow of a ship or cockpit of a plane

    "the captain went fore (or forward) to check the instruments"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Forwardadjective

    Etymology: from the adverb.

    They would that we should remember the poor, which I also was forward to do. Gal. ii. 10.

    You’ll still be too forward. William Shakespeare, Two Gent. of Verona.

    Unskill’d to dart the pointed spear,
    Or lead the forward youth to noble war. Matthew Prior.

    Old Butes’ form he took, Anchises’ squire,
    Now left to rule Ascanius by his sire;
    And thus salutes the boy, too forward for his years. Dryd.

    ’Tis a per’lous boy,
    Bold, quick, ingenious, forward, capable;
    He’s all the mother’s from the top to toe. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

    Short Summer lightly has a forward Spring. William Shakespeare, R. III.

    The mind makes not that benefit it should of the information it receives from civil or natural historians, in being too forward or two slow in making observations on the particular facts recorded in them. John Locke.

    Had they, who would persuade us that there are innate principles, considered separately the parts out of which these propositions are made, they would not perhaps have been so forward to believe they were innate. John Locke.

    Let us take the instant by the forward top;
    For we are old, and on our quick’st decrees
    Th’ inaudible and noiseless foot of time
    Steals, ere we can effect them. William Shakespeare.

    My good Camillo,
    She is as forward of her breeding, as
    She is i’ th’ rear o’ our birth. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.

  2. FORWARDadverb

    Towards; to a part or place before; onward; progressively.

    Etymology: forweard, Saxon.

    When fervent sorrow slaked was,
    She up arose, resolving him to find
    Alive or dead, and forward forth doth pass. Fairy Queen.

    From smaller things the mind of the hearers may go forward to the knowledge of greater, and climb up from the lowest to the highest things. Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 20.

    He that is used to go forward, and findeth a stop, falleth of his own favour, and is not the thing he was. Francis Bacon, Essays.

  3. To Forwardverb

    Etymology: from the adverb.

    As we house hot country plants, as lemons, to save them; so we may house our own country plants to forward them, and make them come in the cold seasons. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist.

    Whenever I shine,
    I forward the grass and I ripen the vine. Jonathan Swift.

Wikipedia

  1. Forward

    Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.

ChatGPT

  1. forward

    1. In a general context, forward refers to a direction or position in front or towards the front. 2. In terms of movement or action, forward refers to progressing, advancing, or moving ahead in a purposeful manner. 3. In sports, like football or hockey, a forward is an offensive player whose primary task is to score goals or points. 4. In business, a forward contract refers to a customized contract to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on a future date. 5. In digital communication, to forward means to send a message, email, or document to another person.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Forwardnoun

    an agreement; a covenant; a promise

  2. Forwardadverb

    alt. of Forwards

  3. Forwardadjective

    near, or at the fore part; in advance of something else; as, the forward gun in a ship, or the forward ship in a fleet

  4. Forwardadjective

    ready; prompt; strongly inclined; in an ill sense, overready; to hasty

  5. Forwardadjective

    ardent; eager; earnest; in an ill sense, less reserved or modest than is proper; bold; confident; as, the boy is too forward for his years

  6. Forwardadjective

    advanced beyond the usual degree; advanced for season; as, the grass is forward, or forward for the season; we have a forward spring

  7. Forwardverb

    to help onward; to advance; to promote; to accelerate; to quicken; to hasten; as, to forward the growth of a plant; to forward one in improvement

  8. Forwardverb

    to send forward; to send toward the place of destination; to transmit; as, to forward a letter

  9. Etymology: [OE., fr. AS. foreweard; fore before + weard a ward. See Ward, n.]

Wikidata

  1. Forward

    Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals. This very advanced position and its limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals than other players. This position requires intelligence, speed, and power, both of execution and of thought, to perform the role well. Modern team formations usually include one to three forwards; two is the most common. Coaches typically field one striker who plays in an advanced position, and another attacking forward who plays somewhat deeper and assists in making goals as well as scoring. Inside forwards develop from attacking midfield positions and hence are naturally midfielders. FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi is a typical Attacking Midfielder seen as a forward due to his shot accuracy.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Forward

    for′ward, adj. near or at the forepart: in advance of something else: ready: too ready: presumptuous: officious: earnest: early ripe.—v.t. to help on, to quicken: to send on.—advs. For′ward, For′wards, towards what is before or in front: onward: progressively.—ns. For′warder; For′warding, the act of sending forward merchandise, &c., for others.—adv. For′wardly.—n. For′wardness. [A.S. foreweard—fore, and -weard, sig. direction. Forwards—M. E. forwardes—was orig. the gen. form (cf. Ger. vorwärts).]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. forward

    In the fore-part of the ship; the same as afore. Also, the word of command when troops are to resume their march after a temporary interruption.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. forward

    A word of command given when troops are to resume their march after a temporary interruption.

Editors Contribution

  1. forward

    An intuitive and known position.

    They moved forward towards their wedding day with love, happiness and unity.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 26, 2020  

  2. forward

    To the future.

    Moving forward we are solving this.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 20, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. Forward

    Foreword vs. Forward -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Foreword and Forward.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. FORWARD

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Forward is ranked #16953 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Forward surname appeared 1,677 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Forward.

    73.5% or 1,233 total occurrences were White.
    21% or 353 total occurrences were Black.
    2.5% or 42 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    2% or 34 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    0.4% or 8 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.4% or 7 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'forward' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #769

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'forward' in Written Corpus Frequency: #574

  3. Adverbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'forward' in Adverbs Frequency: #84

  4. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'forward' in Adjectives Frequency: #947

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for forward »

  1. froward

How to pronounce forward?

How to say forward in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of forward in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of forward in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of forward in a Sentence

  1. The Republican president:

    This is her prerogative - I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber, i look forward to giving a.

  2. Tom McGraw:

    This settlement allows us to move forward and focus on our core business of processing health care claims and providing related administrative services.

  3. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov:

    I hope the change in the position of our Western colleagues, which has unfortunately only come about as the result of terrible acts of terror, will spread to other Western partners. That the stance that the real battle with Islamic State can only be resolved once the fate of Assad is clear, that this position will put to one side, in my opinion there can now be no doubts that it is simply unacceptable to put forward any preconditions in order to unite in the battle against so-called Islamic State terrorists.

  4. Geoffrey Berman:

    I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption.

  5. Lusa Lai:

    This has been a challenging year for our students and teachers, but they have been resilient as they navigate a new way of learning and teaching virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are looking forward to coming together again, and welcoming them back with a new playspace, multi-sport court and garden for all to enjoy.

more sentences »

Popularity rank by frequency of use

forward#1#1403#10000

References

Translations for forward

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • voor, voort, vorentoe, voorwaarts, aanstuur, verder, verwag, voorspelAfrikaans
  • إلى الأمامArabic
  • перасла́ць, перасыла́цьBelarusian
  • занапред, нападател, преден, крило, препращам, напред, нататък, нахаленBulgarian
  • atacant, davanter, ala, alerCatalan, Valencian
  • útočník, přední, přeposlat, dopředu, vpředCzech
  • [[ab]] [[diesem]] [[Tag]], vorn, Bug, nachsenden, vorne, ab, weiterleiten, vorwärts, vorlaut, vorderGerman
  • προάγω, εμπρός, προπετής, μπροστά, προωθώ, εμπρόσθιος, επιθετικός, αυθάδης, μπροστινόςGreek
  • impertinenta, antaŭaEsperanto
  • adelante, remitir, avanteSpanish
  • جلوPersian
  • keula, odotettu, lähtien, kokka, uskallettu, uskalias, etinen, eteenpäin, etummainen, etu-, hyökkääjä, välittää, ennustettu, tulevaFinnish
  • en avant, à partir de, avant, cavalier, osé, à partir d'[[aujourd'hui]], [[aller]] [[en]] [[avant]], avancer, ForwardFrench
  • urrúsach, ar aghaidhIrish
  • הלאה, קדימהHebrew
  • अग्रसरित करना, आगे की ओर, अगला, सामने, भेजना, भविष्य, आगे को चलता करना, आगे, अग्रस्थHindi
  • előre, továbbít, ezután, csatár, kezdve, fogva, továbbHungarian
  • հարձակվող, առաջArmenian
  • meneruskanIndonesian
  • inoltrare, trasmettere, avantiItalian
  • קדימהHebrew
  • 送る, 後, 届ける, 転送, 前方, 前, 回送, 渡す, フォワード, 送り渡すJapanese
  • 앞으로Korean
  • whakamua, whakametometoMāori
  • videresendeNorwegian
  • doorsturenDutch
  • vidaresendeNorwegian Nynorsk
  • baug, framover, framtidig, spiss, direkte, fremre, forward, heretterNorwegian
  • napastnik, do przoduPolish
  • esperado, futuro, [[para]] [[frente]], atrevido, proa, frontal, atacante, repassar, dianteiro, adiante, fronteiro, avante, em diante, frentePortuguese
  • înainteRomanian
  • нахальный, дерзкий, передовой, пересылать, далее, дальше, нападающий, переправить, нос, вперёд, впредь, форвард, переправлять, передний, переслать, развязныйRussian
  • послати, unapred, prenijeti, naprijed, напред, poslati, напријед, prednji, napred, проследити, отпослати, proslediti, пренијети, otposlati, предњиSerbo-Croatian
  • útočníkSlovak
  • främre, hädanefter, vidarebefodra, framtida, påflugen, framåt, anfallare, framåt-Swedish
  • imuaTonga (Tonga Islands)
  • sevk etmek, yollamak, ileriye, müstakbel, olası, öne, ileri, ön, göndermekTurkish
  • آگےUrdu
  • gởi tiếp, gửi tiếp, tiếp, đầuVietnamese
  • 向前Chinese

Get even more translations for forward »

Translation

Find a translation for the forward definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:

Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"forward." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 17 Mar. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/forward>.

Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

Discuss these forward definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for forward? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
    A squashy
    B greedy
    C abrupt
    D dangerous

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for forward: