forward
for·ward/ˈfɔɹwəɹd/adjective, adverb, verb, noun
forward is spelled F-O-R-W-A-R-D, 2 syllables: for·ward. The wrong spelling people search most is foward: about 600 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 12 of all searches for the word. Forward is an adjective meaning “Situated toward or at the front of something”.
How many letters and syllables are in forward?
| Letters | 7: F-O-R-W-A-R-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: for·ward |
| In writing | 132 times per million words; the 792nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, foward, about 600 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell forward?
Forward is spelled F-O-R-W-A-R-D. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 12 of the searches for forward in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is forward?
Forward appears 132 times per million words in written English, the 792nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce forward?
- UK /ˈfɔːwəd/
- US /ˈfɔɹwəɹd/
- US /ˈfoʊwəɹd/
Forward has 2 syllables, split for·ward in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-forward.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-forward.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with forward
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with forward?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as forward (/ɔɹwəɹd/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: froward.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of forward
- further forward comparative
- farther forward comparative
- more forward comparative
- forwarder comparative
- furthest forward superlative
- farthest forward superlative
- most forward superlative
- forwardmost superlative
- forwardest superlative
- forwards present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- forwarding participle, present
- forwarded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does forward mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Situated toward or at the front of something.
The fire was confined to the forward portion of the store.
- 2
Situated toward or near the enemy lines.
The forward battalion took a hammering.
- 3
Acting in or pertaining to the direction in which someone or something is facing.
My forward vision is fine, but my peripheral vision is poor.
- 4
Acting in or pertaining to the direction of travel or movement.
forward motion, forward thrust, forward momentum
- 5
Moving in the desired direction of progress.
This is an important forward step for the country.
- 6
Having the usual order or sequence.
The front of the fire engine has backward writing, that can be read in a mirror, as well as forward writing.
- 7
Expected or scheduled to take place in the future.
The stock price is currently 12 times forward earnings.
- 8
Advanced beyond the usual degree; advanced for the season; precocious.
These students are very forward in their learning.
adverb
- 1
At, near or towards the front of something.
She was sitting well forward in the railway carriage.
- 2
At, near, or towards the bow of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).
- 3
In the direction in which someone or something is facing.
I leant forward to get a better look.
- 4
In the desired or usual direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively; onwards.
After spending an hour stuck in the mud, we could once again move forward.
- 5
So that front and back are in the usual orientation.
Don't wear your baseball cap backward; turn it forward.
- 6
In the usual order or sequence.
A palindrome reads the same backward as forward.
- 7
Into the future.
From this day forward, there will be no more brussels sprouts at the cafeteria.
- 8
To an earlier point in time. See also bring forward.
The meeting has been moved forward an hour. It was at 3 o'clock; now it's at 2 o'clock.
verb
- 1
To advance, promote.
He did all he could to forward the interests of the school.
- 2
To send (a letter, email etc.) on to a third party.
I'll be glad to forward your mail to you while you're gone.
- 3
To assemble (a book) by sewing sections, attaching cover boards, and so on.
- 4
To arrive, come.
noun
- 1
One of the eight players (comprising two props, one hooker, two locks, two flankers and one number eight, collectively known as the pack) whose primary task is to gain and maintain possession of the ball (compare back).
- 2
A player on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.
- 3
An umbrella term for a centre or winger in ice hockey.
- 4
The small forward or power forward position; two frontcourt positions that are taller than guards but shorter than centers.
- 5
The front part of a vessel.
- 6
An e-mail message that is forwarded to another recipient or recipients; an electronic chain letter.
- 7
A direct agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specific point in the future; distinguished from a futures contract in that the latter is standardized and traded on an exchange.
- 8
obsoleteAgreement; covenant.
Wiktionary also records forward as a common misspelling of another word in some uses; the senses above are its own.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate forward?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of forward: FW, FWD, fwd.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forward in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avant , osé, cavalier , en avant, aller en avant, avancer |
| German | vorder, vordere, vorderer, vorausgerichtet, vorauszielend, vorderst |
| Portuguese | frontal, fronteiro, dianteiro , atrevido , futuro, esperado |
| Spanish | descarado, fresco, confianzudo , adelante, avante , a partir de |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does forward come from?
From Middle English foreward, from Old English foreweard (“forward, inclined to the front, fore, early, former”), from Proto-Germanic *fura- (“fore-”), *warþaz (“turned”), equivalent to fore + -ward. Cognate with Dutch voorwaarts (“forward”), German vorwärts (“forward”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).