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1. For the adjective, the correct form in standard English is forward:

It has four forward gears and reverse controlled by a speed-sensing governor—Daily Telegraph, 1971

Already clouds of steam were rising, obscuring the forward view—D. Rutherford, 1990

The aggressor's own forward momentum even strengthens the force of the counter-blow against him—P. Lewis, 1991.

In addition to its directional meanings, forward has the meaning 'bold in manner, precocious':

Any child who requested a book by title he at once designated as 'forward' or 'lippy'—R. Roberts, 1971.

2. For the adverb, choice between the two forms is even less clear-cut than in the case with backward and backwards. The Old English (up to 1150)D (in 1897) attempted to distinguish forward as having a meaning that 'expresses a definite direction viewed in contrast with other directions', but doubts about this were expressed already by Fowler (1926, but evidently writing in about 1917). In some fixed expressions forward is either preferred or obligatory: backwards and forwards (preferred), come forward (obligatory), look forward (to; obligatory), put forward (= propose; obligatory). In some other meanings there is a preference for forward: 'to the front, into prominence'

(Hugh stepped forward. 'It's me, don't be frightened.'—Mary Wesley, 1983

Her mind refused to bring any such memory forward—E. Jolley, Australian English 1985

Then Nigel Carew drew his sabre and thrust it into the hand of his youthful son and pushed him forward—T. Hayden, 1991

A dozen parties came forward, but the best deal was from a consortium—Sunday Times, 2004)

, 'in advance, ahead'

(Civilian volunteers from the town carried sacks of grenades forward to the men in action—J. Ladd, 1979)

, 'onward so as to make progress'

(Rossi expressed surprise that the Commission was 'apparently no further forward than in 1984'—C. Rose, 1990

He had continually to be looking at his watch and calculating whether they were forward enough—G. E. Evans, 1993)

, 'towards the future, continuously onwards'

(The overall feeling is that the Jockey Club is genuinely concerned with helping the industry move forward—Independent, 1989).

3. The most common occurrence of forwards is in meanings denoting straightforward movement towards the front:

A control stick adjusted the airflow from the fan, to make the craft hover or go forwards—Motoring Which?, 1970

Certain single-celled organisms are propelled forwards in the water—New Scientist, 1971

Then he leaned forwards and touched Colin's forearm—Ian McEwan, 1981

It was Amelia who came forwards—K. Newman, 1990

The opponent sees the opening and moves forwards to sweep or punch you—D. Mitchell, 1991.

In all these examples, however, forward would be at least as natural (except perhaps in the 1990 example, in which the use of forwards emphasizes the physical action not always present in the expression come forward); in general forward occurs significantly more often as an adverb than does forwards, both in British English and in American English.

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In shipping, to send to another destination. A package addressed to a former address is forwarded or returned.
See also forwarding company.

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adjective

1. Rude and disrespectful: assuming, assumptive, audacious, bold, boldfaced, brash, brazen, cheeky, contumelious, familiar, impertinent, impudent, insolent, malapert, nervy, overconfident, pert, presuming, presumptuous, pushy, sassy, saucy, smart. Informal brassy, flip, fresh, smart-alecky, snippety, snippy, uppish, uppity. Slang wise¹. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, courtesy/discourtesy.
2. Ahead of current trends or customs: advanced, precocious, progressive. See precede/follow.

verb

1. To cause (something) to be conveyed to a destination: address, consign, dispatch, route, send, ship, transmit. See move/halt.
2. To cause to move forward or upward, as toward a goal: advance, further, promote. See forward/backward, help/harm/harmless.

adj

Definition: advancing, early
Antonyms: backward, late, later, past, reversing

adj

Definition: brash, impertinent
Antonyms: meek, reserved, shy, timid

adj

Definition: in front, first
Antonyms: back, last

adv

Definition: toward the front in order, time
Antonyms: back, backward, past, rear

n

Definition: frontward
Antonyms: backward, rearward

v

Definition: aid, expedite
Antonyms: cease, halt, hinder, impede, stop

v

Definition: send, ship
Antonyms: hold, keep, maintain

adv. also forwards 1. positioned near the enemy lines: troops moved to the forward areas.

2. in, near, or toward the bow or nose of a ship or aircraft.

v.

hand over or send (an official document): their final report was forwarded to the Commanding Officer.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: n. - The act of sending on to another destination; The advancement of some enterprise.

Did you leave a forwarding address with the post office when you moved?

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sign description: Both bend B-hands press forward at the same time.

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A term used in animal husbandry to mean close to, usually close to parturition, e.g. forward ewes are those close to lambing.

For a list of words related to forward, see:

• Basketball
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Extroverted, Outgoing, Outspoken, or Dramatic
• Dimensions and Directions - forward: (adv) moving toward a point in front
• Relative Positions - forward: (adj) situated at or toward the front

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  See crossword solutions for the clue Forward.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adv. - frem, fremad, på levering
adj. - forrest, tidlig, ivrig
n. - forward
v. tr. - fremme, fremsende, videresende

idioms:

• forwarding address    adresse til videresendelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
naar voren, van te voren, gereed, brutaal, progressief, voortaan, vroegrijp, doorzenden, bevorderen, verzenden, aanvaller

Français (French)
adv. - en avant, avant, dans le futur, à partir de, désormais, en avance rapide (une cassette)
adj. - effronté, avant, avancé, précoce, trop en avant, (Mil) (ligne) avant, (Fin) à terme
n. - (Sport) avant
v. tr. - expédier, envoyer, faire suivre, réexpédier

idioms:

• forwarding address    nouvelle adresse (pour faire suivre une lettre)
• go forward    avancer

Deutsch (German)
v. - befördern, nachschicken, voranbringen
n. - Stürmer
adj. - vorwärts, frühreif, fortschrittlich
adv. - vorwärts, nach vorn, voraus

idioms:

• forwarding address    Nachsendeanschrift
• go forward    weitergehen/-fahren, (fig) voranschreiten, vorgestellt werden

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - προάγω, προωθώ, ευνοώ, στέλνω, αποστέλλω, μεταβιβάζω, διαβιβάζω, διεκπεραιώνω
n. - (αθλοπ.) εμπροσθοφύλακας, προωθημένος) κυνηγός
adj. - (εμ)πρόσθιος, μπροστινός, προοδευτικός, πρώιμος, προηγμένος, προχωρημένος, προπέτης, πρόθυμος, στέλνω, αποστέλλω, μεταβιβάζω, διαβιβάζω, διεκπεραιώνω
adv. - (προς τα) εμπρός, πρόσω, μπρος

idioms:

• come forward    προθυμοποιούμαι, προσφέρομαι, εμφανίζομαι, παρουσιάζομαι
• forwarding address    διεύθυνση μεταποστολής (από την αρχική διεύθυνση)

Italiano (Italian)
avanti, inoltrare, attaccante, precoce

idioms:

• forwarding address    indirizzo del destinatario

Português (Portuguese)
v. - mover-se para frente, enviar
n. - atacante (m) (no futebol)
adj. - dianteiro
adv. - adiante

idioms:

• forwarding address    endereço (m) de recebimento

Русский (Russian)
вперед, передний, нагловатый, скороспелый, посылать, пересылать

idioms:

• forwarding address    адрес для отправки корреспонденции

Español (Spanish)
adv. - hacia adelante, adelante
adj. - delantero, precoz, adelantado
n. - delantero
v. tr. - enviar, expedir, reexpedir, adelantar, promover, patrocinar

idioms:

• forwarding address    dirección (donde remitir la correspondencia), nueva dirección
• go forward    avanzar, ir hacia adelante, (fig.) hacer progresos

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - befrämja, vidarebefordra
n. - forward (sport)
adj. - främre, framåtriktad, långt hunnen, framfusig, avancerad, framtida
adv. - framåt, vidare, före, för framtida leverans

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
向前地, 向前的, 迅速的, 早的, 期货, 序言, 发送, 前锋, 转寄, 运送, 促进

idioms:

• forwarding address    转交地址

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adv. - 向前地
adj. - 向前的, 迅速的, 早的
n. - 期貨, 序言, 發送, 前鋒
v. tr. - 轉寄, 運送, 促進

idioms:

• forwarding address    轉交地址

한국어 (Korean)
adv. - 앞으로, 밖으로
adj. - 전방으로의, 촉진적인, 전진적인, 조숙한
n. - 전위, 선봉
v. tr. - 나아가게 하다, 전송하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - 前方へ, 将来, 早めて, 外へ, 前へ
adj. - 前方の, 前部の, 前方への, 進んでいる, 急進的な, でしゃばりの, 早い, 早熟の, 進んで…する, 早熟な
n. - 前衛
v. - 転送する, 進める, 発送する, 送る

idioms:

• come forward    進み出る, 用に供する, 役立つ
• put forward    前方へ移す, 提案する, 目だたせる, 推薦する, 針を進める, 日付を早める, 目立たせる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يرسل , يعزز (الاسم) مقدمه (صفه) أمامي (ظرف) باكرا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adv. - ‮קדימה, קודם, בעתיד, הלאה‬
adj. - ‮קדמי, חזיתי, מתקדם, עתידי, מוכן, להוט, מוקדם, נועז‬
n. - ‮חלוץ (בכדורגל), שופט-קו‬
v. tr. - ‮שיגר, שלח, קידם‬

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