BACK-AND-FORTH Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

back-and-forth

[ bak-uhn-fawrth, -fohrth, -uhnd- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

backward and forward; side to side; to and fro:
a back-and-forth shuttling of buses to the stadium; the back-and-forth movement of a clock's pendulum.

noun

unresolved argument or discussion.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of back-and-forth¹

First recorded in 1605–15

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, backward(s) and forward(s) . To and fro, moving in one direction and then the opposite and so making no progress in either. For example, The clock pendulum swung back and forth . The term is also used figuratively, as in The lawyers argued the point backwards and forwards for an entire week . [c. 1600]

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Example Sentences

"Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth 'rap battles' to express his feelings about other artists."

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The rapid back-and-forth caused confusion at the border crossing, Zaidi said, as customs authorities figured out how to assess shipments that had arrived during the brief window of time that the tariffs were in place.

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The prolonged back-and-forth has unsettled companies, both those that import goods from abroad and those that sell their products to foreign clients.

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In a back-and-forth on what a receiver could do, Umhofer said it might include “control of the budget around homelessness in Los Angeles.”

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And as the back-and-forth dragged on, the odds that her husband would be present at their child’s birth seemed to slip away.

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More About Back And Forth

What does back-and-forth mean?

Back-and-forth is a noun that means an argument or discussion in which little gets resolved.

Back-and-forth is also used to describe something having a movement pattern in which it repeatedly moves somewhere and returns to where it started.

A back-and-forth is a discussion where two or more people are failing to reach a compromise or a solution, as in I had a very long back-and-forth with my girlfriend about what to do with my dog.

A back-and-forth is a much less productive version of a give-and-take, where people more easily reach a compromise.

As an adjective, back-and-forth describes a movement from one point to another and then back to the original point, as in The audience stared at the back-and-forth movements of the hypnotist’s watch. Such a movement might be forward and backward and forward again or from one side to another and back to the first side.

Example: The budget discussion became an intense back-and-forth where neither side wanted to concede anything.

Where does back-and-forth come from?

The first records of back-and-forth come from around 1605. It is composed of the words back, meaning “toward the rear (backward)”, and forth, meaning “toward the front (forward).”

If something literally moves backward and then forward, it is back where it started. It makes no progress. The figurative noun sense likely alludes to this idea of a lack of progress.

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What are some synonyms for back-and-forth?

backward and forward
to and fro
alternating
from side to side

What are some words that share a root or word element with back-and-forth?��

back
forth

What are some words that often get used in discussing back-and-forth?

How is back-and-forth used in real life?

Back-and-forth is most often used to refer to an unresolved argument or something that moves backward and forward.

“Instead of just calling you and getting the task done in 3 minutes, I insist on 27 back-and-forth emails.” – way too many people I know

— George Hahn (@georgehahn)

Ratchet: A tool consisting of a handle with a built-in mechanism allowing it to be turned using a back-and-forth motion in cramped spaces.

— Blackbeard (@scissorspeaks)

Time is money. The next time someone reaches out to sell you their services, here's how you avoid endless back-and-forth emails: "Thank you for reaching out. What are your rates?"

— Carlos Gil 📙 (@carlosgil83)

Try using back-and-forth!

True or False?

A back-and-forth is an argument that goes unresolved or fails to lead to a compromise.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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