forward

• foreward

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːwəd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹwɚd/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (General Australian, Estuary English, General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈfoːwəd/
• (General New Zealand, unstressed) IPA^(key): /foːd/
• Homophones: foreword (US, Canada)
• Hyphenation: for‧ward

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”).

forward (comparative more forward, superlative most forward)

1. Toward the front or at the front.

   The fire was confined to the forward portion of the store.

   the forward gun in a ship, or the forward ship in a fleet

2. Without customary restraint or modesty; bold, cheeky, pert, presumptuous or pushy.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

     […] the lady conceived the same desires with himself, and was on her side contriving how to give the captain proper encouragement, without appearing too forward; for she was a strict observer of all rules of decorum.

   1999: "Would you think it forward of me to kiss you?" asked Tristran. — Neil Gaiman, Stardust, pg. 44 (2001 Perennial paperback edition).

3. (finance) Expected in the future.

   The stock price is currently 12 times forward earnings.

4. Ready; prompt; ardently inclined; in a bad sense, eager or hasty.
   • Bible, Gal. ii. 10

     Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

   • Shakespeare

     Nor do we find him forward to be sounded.

5. Advanced beyond the usual degree; advanced for the season; precocious.

   The grass is forward, or forward for the season. We have a forward spring.

   • Shakespeare

     The most forward bud / Is eaten by the canker ere it blow.

• The superlative forwardmost can be used for the "toward or at the front" sense. There does not appear to be a "forwardmore".

• (at the front): anterior, front
• (without customary restraint): bold, fresh, impertinent, brazen
• (expected in the future): forecast, predicted

• (at the front): back, posterior, rear
• (without customary restraint): restrained
• (expected in the future): past

forward (comparative further forward, superlative furthest forward)

1. Towards the front or from the front.

   The bus driver told everyone standing up to move forward.

   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, OCLC 7780546; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., 55 Fifth Avenue, [1933], OCLC 2666860, page 0016:

     A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.

2. In the usual direction of travel.

   After spending an hour stuck in the mud, we could once again move forward.

3. Into the future.

   From this day forward, there will be no more brussels sprouts at the cafeteria.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:

     The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.

• (towards the front): forwards
• (in the usual direction of travel): ahead, forth, on, onward, onwards
• (into the future): forth, forwards, hereon, on, onward, onwards

• (towards the front): back, backward, backwards, rearwards
• (in the usual direction of travel): back, backward, backwards, rearwards, in reverse
• (in the future): backward, backwards, into the past

• straightforward

• forwards (adverb)
• look forward
• look forward to

forward (third-person singular simple present forwards, present participle forwarding, simple past and past participle forwarded)

1. (transitive) To advance, promote.
   • 1941, W Somerset Maugham, Up at the Villa, Vintage 2004, p. 26:

     Mary had a suspicion that this plan had been arranged beforehand, for she knew how the lewd old woman loved to forward love affairs […].

2. (transitive) To send (a letter, email etc.) to a third party.

   I'll be glad to forward your mail to you while you're gone.

3. (transitive, bookbinding) To assemble (a book) by sewing sections, attaching cover boards, and so on.

• (send (something received) to a third party): pass on

• fast forward
• forwarding address
• freight forwarder
• forward contract

• Dutch: forwarden

forward (plural forwards)

1. (rugby) 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. (soccer) 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. (ice hockey) An umbrella term for a centre or winger in ice hockey.
4. (basketball) The small forward or power forward position; two frontcourt positions that are taller than guards but shorter than centers.
5. (nautical) The front part of a vessel.
6. (Internet) An e-mail message that is forwarded to another recipient or recipients; an electronic chain letter.
   • 2004, Tamara Stevens, What Is Snail Mail?: The Lost Art of Letterwriting (page 27)

     When you receive your new pen-pal's email address, do not automatically put it in your address book and use the email Addy to send 'forwards' to. Not every pen pal likes 'forwards', especially jokes and meaningless emails.

   • 2009, Joli Ballew, Windows 7 for the Over 50s in Simple Steps

     This method attaches the files to a new email, which is fine if you want to create a new email. The only problem with this is that it doesn't work if you'd rather send forwards or replies.

• (soccer position): attacker, centre forward, striker

• cab forward

From Middle English foreward, from Old English foreweard (“condition, bargain, agreement, contract, treaty, assurance”), equivalent to fore- +‎ ward (“ward, keeping”). Cognate with Scots forward (“covenant, compact”), Dutch voorwaarde (“condition, terms, proviso, stipulation”). More at fore-, ward.

forward (plural forwards)

1. (dialectal or obsolete) Agreement; covenant.
2. Misconstruction of foreword (“preface or introduction”)

• Warford, froward

• forvard

Borrowed from English forward.

• IPA^(key): /ˈforvart/
• Hyphenation: for‧ward

forward m anim

1. (soccer, ice hockey) forward
   • 2015 September 27, “Borussia Dortmund - SV Darmstadt 2:2”, in eurofotbal.cz‎:

     Gabonský forward byl nejnebezpečnějším hráčem v černožlutém dresu.

     The Gabonese forward was the best player in the black and yellow shirt.

• forwardka

forward m inan

1. (soccer, ice hockey) forward line
   • 2012 July 5, “Vědě, Alma mater, Jičínu”, in Jičínský deník.cz‎, page ...:

     V tenise hrál ve finále „Pardubické juniorky", v basketbale byl jedním z nejlepších tvořivých hráčů Jičína a ve fotbale hrál ve forwardu mnohdy lépe než útočníci jeho milované Sparty.

     In tennis he played the final of "Pardubická juniorka" tournament, in basketball he was one of the most creative players of Jičín and in football he played in the forward line often better than attackers of his beloved Sparta.

2. (business) forward contract
   • 2006, “Forwardy”, in Řízení obchodních bank: vybrané kapitoly‎, page 117:

     Forwardy jsou pevně sjednané kontrakty na budoucí nákup nebo prodej určitého finančního instrumentu.

     Forward contracts are firmly negotiated contracts on a future purchase or sale of a certain financial instrument.

• (sport): útok, ofenziva
• (contract): forwardový kontrakt

• (sport): obrana

• forwardový

• forward in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957