For or fore?
for is a conjunction meaning “Because”; fore is a prefix meaning “Before: the root is happening earlier in time”. They sound the same (/fɔː/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) for is about 3,090 times as common as fore.
What is the difference between for and fore?
| for | fore | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | conjunction, preposition, particle, prefix, noun | prefix, adjective, interjection, noun, adverb, preposition |
| Meaning | Because Towards; in the direction of Leading towards in time or circumstance | Before: the root is happening earlier in time The early stage of the root time period Used to indicate error, exclusion, or inadequacy; Alternative form of for- |
| Example | I had to stay with my wicked stepmother, for I had nowhere else to go | foreshadow |
| Forms | fa, fo, foh, fo', fur, fuh | foremost |
| Pronunciation | /fɔː/ /fɔɹ/ /foː/ | /fɔː/ /fɔɹ/ /foːɹ/ |
| In writing | 10,233 times per million words | 3.3 times per million words |
Sources: for and fore in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of for and fore
for
- 1
Because
I had to stay with my wicked stepmother, for I had nowhere else to go
- 2
Towards; in the direction of
The astronauts headed for the moon
- 3
datedTo; (the particle for marking the following verb as an infinitive)
She say that when nigger people step out o’ they place and start for rub shoulders with Bacra, trouble just ‘round the corner
- 4
Forth: prefixed to verbs to indicate a direction of 'away', 'off', 'forth'
forsteal
- 5
Alternative form of fore-
forstand
- 6
Initialism of field Of research
- 7
Leading towards in time or circumstance
We're heading for bankruptcy
- 8
Exhausting: prefixed to verbs with the sense of wearing or exhausting oneself
forsing
fore
- 1
Before: the root is happening earlier in time
foreshadow
- 2
Used to indicate error, exclusion, or inadequacy; Alternative form of for-
forelay
- 3
Alternative form of for-: outside, out
foreclose
- 4
Forward; situated towards the front (of something)
- 5
An exclamation yelled to inform players a ball is moving in their direction
- 6
The front; the forward part of something; the foreground
- 7
In the part that precedes or goes first; opposed to aft, after, back, behind, etc
- 8
A people of Papua New Guinea
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, for or fore?
for appears 10,233 times per million words; fore 3.3 times per million words.
for 10,233 times per million wordsfore 3.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search for vs fore?
“for vs fore” is searched about 140 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“fore vs for”, “for or fore”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.