back-and-forth

[ bak-uhn-fawrth, -fohrth, -uhnd- ]

adjective

1. backward and forward; side to side; to and fro:

   a back-and-forth shuttling of buses to the stadium; the back-and-forth movement of a clock's pendulum.

noun

1. unresolved argument or discussion.

Word History and Origins

Origin of back-and-forth¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Idioms and Phrases

Also, backward(s) and forward(s) . To and fro, moving in one direction and then the opposite and so making no progress in either. For example, The clock pendulum swung back and forth . The term is also used figuratively, as in The lawyers argued the point backwards and forwards for an entire week . [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

Thus began a flurry of back-and-forth emails between director and subject.

From The Daily Beast

“I take like three, three-and-a-half hours out of the day just to commute back-and-forth,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

The two had a heated back-and-forth that was barely audible while the camera was still running.

From The Daily Beast

I went everywhere he was, and I was just off-camera talking to him so we could riff stuff back-and-forth.

From The Daily Beast

The image cuts back-and-forth between Kardashian voguing, and West giving his best “Blue Steel” to the camera.

From The Daily Beast

There would be none of this shilly-shallying back-and-forth work then!

From Project Gutenberg

She just seesawed her car with three rapid back-and-forth jerks that sent showers of stones from her spinning wheels.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a lot of back-and-forth yelling to make sure that everybody was out from in front, and then the blowers started.

From Project Gutenberg

It was one of the jerky, bob-back-and-forth kind that pitches you off the seat every five minutes.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Back And Forth

What does back-and-forth mean?

Back-and-forth is a noun that means an argument or discussion in which little gets resolved.

Back-and-forth is also used to describe something having a movement pattern in which it repeatedly moves somewhere and returns to where it started.

A back-and-forth is a discussion where two or more people are failing to reach a compromise or a solution, as in I had a very long back-and-forth with my girlfriend about what to do with my dog.

A back-and-forth is a much less productive version of a give-and-take, where people more easily reach a compromise.

As an adjective, back-and-forth describes a movement from one point to another and then back to the original point, as in The audience stared at the back-and-forth movements of the hypnotist’s watch. Such a movement might be forward and backward and forward again or from one side to another and back to the first side.

Example: The budget discussion became an intense back-and-forth where neither side wanted to concede anything.

Where does back-and-forth come from?

The first records of back-and-forth come from around 1605. It is composed of the words back, meaning “toward the rear (backward)”, and forth, meaning “toward the front (forward).”

If something literally moves backward and then forward, it is back where it started. It makes no progress. The figurative noun sense likely alludes to this idea of a lack of progress.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for back-and-forth?

• backward and forward
• to and fro
• alternating
• from side to side

What are some words that share a root or word element with back-and-forth? 

• back
• forth

What are some words that often get used in discussing back-and-forth?

• pendulum
• seesaw
• swing
• argument
• stalemate
• uncompromising

How is back-and-forth used in real life?

Back-and-forth is most often used to refer to an unresolved argument or something that moves backward and forward.

“Instead of just calling you and getting the task done in 3 minutes, I insist on 27 back-and-forth emails.” – way too many people I know

— George Hahn (@georgehahn) January 29, 2021

Ratchet: A tool consisting of a handle with a built-in mechanism allowing it to be turned using a back-and-forth motion in cramped spaces.

— Blackbeard (@scissorspeaks) June 22, 2012

Time is money. The next time someone reaches out to sell you their services, here's how you avoid endless back-and-forth emails: "Thank you for reaching out. What are your rates?"

— Carlos Gil 📙 (@carlosgil83) September 19, 2019

Try using back-and-forth!

True or False?

A back-and-forth is an argument that goes unresolved or fails to lead to a compromise.