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PlainSpell

toward

to·ward/tɔɹd/preposition, adjective

toward is spelled T-O-W-A-R-D, 2 syllables: to·ward. The wrong spelling people search most is torward: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 22 of all searches for the word. Toward is a preposition meaning “In the direction of”.

How many letters and syllables are in toward?

Letters6: T-O-W-A-R-D
Syllables2: to·ward
In writing52 times per million words; the 1,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched1; the most searched, torward, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them)
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

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 toward?

Toward is spelled T-O-W-A-R-D. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 22 of the searches for toward in either form.

towardthe right spelling420 searches a month
torwardan extra r20 searches a month

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 toward?

Toward appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st 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 toward?

  • UK /təˈwɔːd/
  • US /tɔɹd/
  • US /ˈtwɔɹd/

Toward has 2 syllables, split to·ward in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-toward.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with toward

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

toward vs towards0 B

Also written: towards.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with toward?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as toward from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹd/):

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 toward

  • towards UK

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does toward mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

preposition

  1. 1

    USIn the direction of.

    She moved toward the door.

  2. 2

    USIn relation to (someone or something).

    What are your feelings toward him?

  3. 3

    USFor the purpose of attaining (an aim).

    I'm saving money toward retirement.

  4. 4

    USLocated close to; near (a time or place).

    Our place is over toward the station.

adjective

  1. 1

    USYielding, pliant; docile; ready or apt to learn; not froward.

  2. 2

    USdatedApproaching, coming near; impending; present, at hand.

  3. 3

    USarchaicobsoletePromising, likely.

  4. 4

    USobsoleteFuture; to-come.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Toward in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchvers (in the direction of), envers (in relation to), pour (for the purpose of), près de (located near)
Germanzu, in Richtung, nach, auf (in the direction of), gegenüber (in relation to)
Portuguesea, rumo a, até (in the direction of), para com (in relation to), para (for the purpose of), por (located near)
Spanishhacia (in the direction of), sobre (in relation to), para (for the purpose of)

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 toward come from?

From Middle English toward, from Old English tōweard, from Proto-West Germanic *tōward, equivalent to to + -ward. Cognate with Middle Low German tôwart, Middle Dutch toewaert (Modern Dutch toewaarts), Middle High German zuowart, zūwart (Modern German zuwärts). Compare also Middle English tilward, tillward (“toward”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after toward