First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1to
preposition \tə, tu̇, ˈtü\
—used to indicate the place, person, or thing that someone or something moves toward
—used to indicate the place where someone participates in a particular activity
—used to indicate the direction of something
Full Definition of TO
1
a —used as a function word to indicate movement or an action or condition suggestive of movement toward a place, person, or thing reached <drove to the city> <went back to the original idea> <went to lunch> b —used as a function word to indicate direction <a mile to the south> <turned his back to the door> <a tendency to silliness> c —used as a function word to indicate contact or proximity <applied polish to the table> <put her hand to her heart> d (1) —used as a function word to indicate the place or point that is the far limit <100 miles to the nearest town> (2) —used as a function word to indicate the limit of extent <stripped to the waist> e —used as a function word to indicate relative position <perpendicular to the floor>
2
a —used as a function word to indicate purpose, intention, tendency, result, or end <came to our aid> <drink to his health> b —used as a function word to indicate the result of an action or a process <broken all to pieces> <go to seed> <to their surprise, the train left on time>
3
4
—used as a function word to indicate addition, attachment, connection, belonging, possession, accompaniment, or response <the key to the door> <danced to live music> <comes to her call>
5
—used as a function word (1) to indicate the extent or degree (as of completeness or accuracy) <loyal to a man> <generous to a fault> or the extent and result (as of an action or a condition) <beaten to death> (2) to indicate the last or an intermediate point of a series <moderate to cool temperatures>
6
a —used as a function word (1) to indicate a relation to one that serves as a standard <inferior to her earlier works> (2) to indicate similarity, correspondence, dissimilarity, or proportion <compared him to a god> b —used as a function word to indicate agreement or conformity <add salt to taste> <to my knowledge> c —used as a function word to indicate a proportion in terms of numbers or quantities <400 to the box> <odds of ten to one>
7
a —used as a function word (1) to indicate the application of an adjective or a noun <agreeable to everyone> <attitude to friends> <title to the property> (2) to indicate the relation of a verb to its complement or to a complementary element <refers to the traditions> (3) to indicate the receiver of an action or the one for which something is done or exists <gives a dollar to the man> and often used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusiveness (as of possession) or separateness <had the house to themselves> b —used as a function word to indicate agency <falls to his opponent's blows>
8
—used as a function word to indicate that the following verb is an infinitive <wants to go> and often used by itself at the end of a clause in place of an infinitive suggested by the preceding context <knows more than she seems to>
See to defined for English-language learners
See to defined for kids
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Origin of TO
Middle English, from Old English tō; akin to Old High German zuo to, Latin donec as long as, until
Related to TO
Rhymes with TO
blue, boo, brew, chew, clew, clue, coo, coup, crew, cue, dew, do, doux, due, ewe, few, flu, flue, fou, glue, gnu, goo, hew, hue, Jew, Koo, lieu, loo, mew, moo, moue, mu, new, nu, ooh, pew, phew, pooh, q, queue, roux, rue, screw, shoe, shoo, shrew, Sioux, skew, slew, slough, slue, smew, sou, sous, spew, sprue, stew, strew, sue, Sue, thew, through, too, true, two, u, view, whew, who, woo, xu, yew, you, zoo
2to
adverb \ˈtü\
: into a state of being awake or conscious
: into a position that is closed or almost closed
Full Definition of TO
1
a —used as a function word to indicate direction toward <run to and fro> b : close to the wind <the gale having gone over, we came to — R. H. Dana>
2
a : into contact especially with the frame —used of a door or a window <the door snapped to> b —used as a function word to indicate physical application or attachment <he…hath set to his seal — John 3:33(Authorized Version)>
3
—used as a function word to indicate application or attention <will stand to — Shakespeare>
4
: to a state of consciousness or awareness <brings her to with smelling salts>
5
: at hand : by <get to see 'em close to — Richard Llewellyn>
See to defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of TO
before 12th century
TO
abbreviation
Definition of TO
1
table of organization
2
traditional orthography
3
turnover
TO Defined for Kids
1to
preposition \tə, ˈtü\
Definition of TO for Kids
1
: in the direction of <I'm walking to school.>
3
: as far as <It fell from the top to the bottom.> <Water was up to my waist.>
4
: so as to become or bring about <You broke it to pieces!>
5
: 2before 2 <Meet me at ten to six.>
6
: 1until <The café is open from six to noon.>
7
: fitting or being a part of or response to <I found a key to the lock.> <What do you say to that?>
8
: along with <Skip to the music.>
9
: in relation to or comparison with <This one is similar to that one.> <We won ten to six.>
10
: in agreement with <It's made to order.>
11
: within the limits of <There's no more to my knowledge.>
12
: contained, occurring, or included in <There are two pints to a quart.>
13
—used to show the one or ones that an action is directed toward <He spoke to my parents.> <I gave it to them.>
14
: for no one except <We had the room to ourselves.>
15
: into the action of <We got to talking.>
16
—used to mark an infinitive <I like to swim.>
Headscratcher for TO
You might think that more than two to's is too many, but in English we have three: to, two, and too!
2to
adverb \ˈtü\
Definition of TO for Kids
1
: in a direction toward <They ran to and fro.>
2
: to a conscious state <The driver came to an hour after the accident.>
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