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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
to-and-fro    Audio Help   [too-uhn-froh] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -fros.
–adjective
1.back-and-forth: to-and-fro motion.
–noun
2.a continuous or regular movement backward and forward; an alternating movement, flux, flow, etc.: the to-and-fro of the surf.
[Origin: 1820–30; adj. and n. use of adv. phrase to and fro, ME; see fro (def. 2)]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
to and fro

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
fro    Audio Help   [froh] Pronunciation Key
–adverb
1.Obsolete. from; back.
—Idiom
2.to and fro, alternating from one place to another; back and forth: The trees were swaying to and fro in the wind.
[Origin: 1150–1200; ME frō, frā < ON frā from; akin to OE fram from]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
to    Audio Help   [too; unstressed too, tuh] Pronunciation Key
–preposition
1.(used for expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place, or thing approached and reached, as opposed to from): They came to the house.
2.(used for expressing direction or motion or direction toward something) in the direction of; toward: from north to south.
3.(used for expressing limit of movement or extension): He grew to six feet.
4.(used for expressing contact or contiguity) on; against; beside; upon: a right uppercut to the jaw; Apply varnish to the surface.
5.(used for expressing a point of limit in time) before; until: to this day; It is ten minutes to six. We work from nine to five.
6.(used for expressing aim, purpose, or intention): going to the rescue.
7.(used for expressing destination or appointed end): sentenced to jail.
8.(used for expressing agency, result, or consequence): to my dismay; The flowers opened to the sun.
9.(used for expressing a resulting state or condition): He tore it to pieces.
10.(used for expressing the object of inclination or desire): They drank to her health.
11.(used for expressing the object of a right or claim): claimants to an estate.
12.(used for expressing limit in degree, condition, or amount): wet to the skin; goods amounting to $1000; Tomorrow's high will be 75 to 80°.
13.(used for expressing addition or accompaniment) with: He added insult to injury. They danced to the music. Where is the top to this box?
14.(used for expressing attachment or adherence): She held to her opinion.
15.(used for expressing comparison or opposition): inferior to last year's crop; The score is eight to seven.
16.(used for expressing agreement or accordance) according to; by: a position to one's liking; to the best of my knowledge.
17.(used for expressing reference, reaction, or relation): What will he say to this?
18.(used for expressing a relative position): parallel to the roof.
19.(used for expressing a proportion of number or quantity) in; making up: 12 to the dozen; 20 miles to the gallon.
20.(used for indicating the indirect object of a verb, for connecting a verb with its complement, or for indicating or limiting the application of an adjective, noun, or pronoun): Give it to me. I refer to your work.
21.(used as the ordinary sign or accompaniment of the infinitive, as in expressing motion, direction, or purpose, in ordinary uses with a substantive object.)
22.Mathematics. raised to the power indicated: Three to the fourth is 81 (34 = 81).
–adverb
23.toward a point, person, place, or thing, implied or understood.
24.toward a contact point or closed position: Pull the door to.
25.toward a matter, action, or work: We turned to with a will.
26.into a state of consciousness; out of unconsciousness: after he came to.
—Idiom
27.to and fro. fro (def. 2).
[Origin: bef. 900; ME, OE tō; c. D te, toe, G zu]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
to and fro  
adv.   Back and forth.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
to and fro

adverb
moving from one place to another and back again; "he traveled back and forth between Los Angeles and New York"; "the treetops whipped to and fro in a frightening manner"; "the old man just sat on the porch and rocked back and forth all day" [syn: back and forth] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
to and fro [tuːənˈfrou]
backwards and forwards
Example: they ran to and fro in the street
Arabic: جيئَةً وذهاباً
Chinese (Simplified): 来回地
Chinese (Traditional): 來回地
Czech: sem a tam
Danish: frem og tilbage
Dutch: heen en weer
Estonian: edasi-tagasi
Finnish: edestakaisin
French: de long en large
German: hin und her
Greek: πέρα δώθε
Hungarian: ide-oda
Icelandic: til og frá
Indonesian: hilir-mudik
Italian: (avanti e indietro), (su e giù)
Japanese: 行ったり来たり
Korean: 앞뒤로, 이리저리
Latvian: šurpu turpu; uz priekšu un atpakaļ
Lithuanian: pirmyn ir atgal
Norwegian: att og fram, fram og tilbake
Polish: tam i z powrotem
Portuguese (Brazil): em vaivém
Portuguese (Portugal): para trás e para a frente
Romanian: încolo şi încoace
Russian: взад и вперёд
Slovak: sem a tam
Slovenian: sem in tja
Spanish: de un lado al otro, yendo y viniendo, en un vaivén
Swedish: fram och tillbaka
Turkish: öteye beriye, ileri geri
See also: to

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
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