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to - What does it mean?

Definition of 'to'

English

Alternative forms

* (dialectal) ter * (contraction) t' * (abbreviation)

Particle

(en-part)
    • I want to leave.
    He asked me what to do.
    I don’t know how to say it.
    I have places to''' go and people '''to see.
  • * 1711 , :
    • To' err is human, ' to forgive divine.
  • * , Scene 1:
    • To be, or not to be: that is the question: /
  • * 2010 July, , headline [http://web.archive.org/web/20100705003703/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gfMucgz8wUGUNUNXRyIyqzY6lWwQD9GM98N83]:
    • Odds are, BP to get new CEO this year
  • * {{quote-news
    • |year=2011 |date=April 10 |author=Alistair Magowan |title=Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle |work=BBC Sport citation |page= |passage=To' that end, the home supporters were in good voice ' to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.}}
    • "Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to , but it was closed."
    If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to .

    Derived terms

    * going to / gonna * got to / gotta * have to / hafta * ought to / oughta * supposed to / supposta * used to / usta * want to / wanna * fixing to / finna

    Preposition

    (en-prep)
  • In the direction of, and arriving at.
    • We are walking to the shop.
  • * 2013 September 28, , " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
    • Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.
    • He devoted himself to education.
    They drank to his health.
    • That is something to do.
    • His face was beaten to a pulp.
    • similar to''' ...'', ''relevant '''to''' ...'', ''pertinent '''to''' ...'', ''I was nice '''to''' him'', ''he was cruel '''to''' her'', ''I am used '''to walking.
  • (arithmetic)
    • one to one = 1:1
    ten to one = 10:1.
  • * {{quote-news
    • |year=2012 |date=April 22 |author=Sam Sheringham |title=Liverpool 0-1 West Brom |work=BBC Sport citation |page= |passage=In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.}}
  • (arithmetic) .
    • Three squared or three to the second power is nine.
    Three to the power of two is nine.
    Three to the second is nine.
    • I gave the book to him.
  • (time) Preceding.
    • ten to''' ten'' = 9:50; ''We're going to leave at ten '''to (the hour).
  • (Canada|UK|Newfoundland|West Midlands) at
    • Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

    See also

    * at

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.
    • Please push the door to .
  • * 1913 ,
    • He went in his room, pushed the door to , without fastening the latch.
  • (nautical) Into the wind.

    • Synonyms

    * closed, shut

    Antonyms

    * open, ajar

    See also

    * come to * heave to * lean-to * set-to * to and fro * (seeCites)

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * 100 English basic words English two-letter words 1000 English basic words ----

    Similar to 'to'

    two, tao, too, tho