to

to

to¹ [to͞o]

prep.

[ME < OE, akin to Ger zu < IE * -dō-, up toward > L (quan)do, when, then, do(nec), until]

1.

a) in the direction of; toward [a turn to the left, traveling to Pittsburgh]

b) in the direction of and reaching [he went to Boston; it fell to the ground]

2. as far as; to the extent of [wet to the skin, starved to death]

3.

a) toward or into the condition of [to grow to manhood, a rise to fame]

b) so as to result in [sentenced to ten years in prison]

4.

a) on, onto, against, at, next to, etc.: used to indicate nearness or contact [applying lotion to the skin, a house to the right, cheek to cheek]

b) in a (specified) relation with [lines parallel to each other]

c) in front of [face to face]

5.

a) until [no parking from four to six]

b) before [at ten to six]

6. for the purpose of; for [come to dinner]

7.

a) as concerns; with respect to; involving [that's all there is to it; to leave oneself open to attack]

b) in the opinion of [it seems good to me]

8. producing, causing, or resulting in [to his amazement, torn to pieces]

9. along with; accompanied by; as an accompaniment for [add this to the others; dance to the music]

10. being the proper appurtenance, possession, or attribute of; of [the key to the house]

11. as compared with; as against [a score of 7 to 1, superior to the others]

12.

a) in agreement, correspondence, or conformity with [not to her taste]

b) as a reaction, or in response, toward [the dog came to his whistle]

13. constituting; in or for (each) [four quarts to a gallon]

14. as far as the limit of [moderate to high in price]

15. with (a specified person or thing) as the recipient of the verb: an indicator of the indirect object of the action [listen to him; give the book to her]

16. in honor of [a toast to your success]

17. by: used in some passive constructions [a person known to me]

18. at or in (a specified place) [to have someone to the house for dinner ]: often a dial. usage [ he's to home ]

19. Dial. with (a specified crop) [a field planted to corn]: To is also used before a verb as a sign of the infinitive [ it was easy to read; to live is sweet ] or, elliptically, to stand for a verb, repeated in its infinitive form, and the objects, phrases, etc. that follow [ tell him if you want to]

adv.

1. forward [his hat is on wrong side to]

2. in the normal or desired direction, position, or condition; esp., shut or closed [the door was blown to]

3. into a state of consciousness [the boxer came to]

4. at hand [we were close to when it happened]: To is used in many idiomatic phrases entered in this dictionary under their key words (e.g., bring to, come to, go to)

——————

to and fro

first in one direction and then in the opposite; back and forth

to²

abbrev.

turnover