tə,
tu̇,
ˈtü 
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
—used as a function word to indicate position or relation in time: such as
a
: before
five minutes to five
b
: until sense 2
from eight to five
up to now
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 seriesmoderate 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 proportioncompared 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 elementrefers to the traditions
(3) to indicate the receiver of an action or the one for which something is done or existsgives a dollar to the man
and often used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusiveness (as of possession) or separatenesshad 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 contextknows more than she seems 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
R. H. Dana2
: to a state of consciousness or awareness
brings her to with smelling salts
3
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 (King James Version)
John 3:33 (King James Version)4
—used as a function word to indicate application or attention
will stand to—William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare5
: at hand : by
get to see 'em close to—Richard Llewellyn
Richard Llewellyn1
table of organization
2
traditional orthography
3
turnover
Synonyms
Examples of to in a Sentence
Preposition
right now it's 25 minutes to 10:00
Adverb
The wind blew the door to.
Recent Examples on the Web
Devon Abelman, Allure, 23 Nov. 2024
In development for a year now, the film project is a musical journey of a 13th century mystical character renown from Turkey to China for his wit and wisdom, traveling in times of the crusades and the Mongol invasion.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024
Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 4 Oct. 2024
When interest rates rose last year, so did the price tag, to well over $5 billion, in part because of borrowing costs.
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 25 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for to 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Send us feedback.
Preposition
Dust Illuminating Powder Add extra sparkle to your bestie's beauty routine with the Diamond Dust Illuminating Powder.
—Devon Abelman, Allure, 23 Nov. 2024
In development for a year now, the film project is a musical journey of a 13th century mystical character renown from Turkey to China for his wit and wisdom, traveling in times of the crusades and the Mongol invasion.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024
Adverb
It’s split into a downward opening lower quarter and to-hinged ¾ panel.
—Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 4 Oct. 2024
When interest rates rose last year, so did the price tag, to well over $5 billion, in part because of borrowing costs.
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 25 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for to
Dictionary Entries Near to
Cite this Entry
“To.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
to
1 of 2 preposition
tə
tu̇,
(ˈ)tü
1
a
—used to indicate movement or something suggesting movement toward a place, person, or thing reached
walked to school
send data to disk storage
went back to my first idea
b
—used to indicate direction
a mile to the south
your back to the window
c
—used to indicate contact
apply polish to the table
d
—used to indicate a limit
the water was up to my waist
2
—used to indicate purpose, result, or end
came to our aid
broke to pieces
sentenced to death
3
a
: before entry 2 sense 3
at quarter to five
b
: until entry 1
from nine to five
4
—used to indicate belonging, accompanying, or responding
the key to the lock
dance to live music
not much you could say to that
5
a
—used to indicate a relation of likeness or unlikeness
similar to mine
b
—used to indicate agreement
salt to taste
c
—used to indicate a proportion in terms of number or amount
packed 10 to the box
6
a
—used to indicate the relation of adjective to noun
agreeable to all of us
or verb to complementsticks to business
b
—used to indicate one that receives an action
spoke to the teacher
give it to me
7
: for no one but
had the house to ourselves
8
—used to mark an infinitive
likes to swim
and often used by itself in place of an infinitiveI didn't mean to
to
2 of 2 adverb1
: in the direction toward
run to and fro
2
: into contact especially with a frame
snapped her purse to
wind blew the door to
3
: to a state of consciousness or awareness
brings him to with smelling salts
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