to

In order to.

Adverb

  1. Toward a closed, touching, or engaging position.
    • Please push the door to.
    • He went in his room, pushed the door to, without fastening the latch. - 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 12”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
    • Aware of the loud beating of my own heart I pulled the door to against the increasing rain. - 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter V, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 104:

    Synonyms: closed shut

    Antonyms: open ajar

  2. Into the wind.
  3. Misspelling of too.

Origin

From Middle English to, from Old English tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō ~ *ta, from Proto-Indo-European *de ~ *do (“to”). Cognate with Scots tae, to (“to”), North Frisian to, tö, tu (“to”), Saterland Frisian tou (“to”), Low German to (“to”), Dutch toe, te (“to”), German zu (“to”), West Frisian ta (“to”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian ndaj (“towards”), Irish do (“to, for”), Breton da (“to, for”), Welsh i (“to, for”), Russian до (do, “to”). Doublet of too.

Forms

ter t' 2

Related

come to heave to here's to lean-to set-to to and fro For quotations using this term Citations:to

Conjunction

  1. In order to.
    • I went to the shops to buy some bread.

Forms

ter t' 2

Particle Entry 3

  1. A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive.
    • I want to leave.
    • He asked me what to do.
    • I have places to go and people to see.
  2. As above, with the verb implied.
    • "Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed."
    • If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to.
  3. Used to indicate an obligation on the part of, or a directive given to, the subject.
    • You are to go to the store and buy a bottle of milk.

Forms

ter t' 2

Derived

finna gonna gotta hafta oughta supposta usta wanna

Particle India, North

  1. A filler word common amongst urban Indians.
    • I am to so bored right now.

Origin

Etymology tree Hindi तो (to)bor. English to Borrowed from Hindi तो (to).

Forms

ter t' 2

Preposition

  1. In the direction of; towards.
    • She looked to the heavens.
  2. Indicating destination or final position: In the direction of, so as to arrive at or reach.
    • We are walking to the shop.
    • The water came right to the top of this wall.
    • The coconut fell to the ground.
  3. Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action.
    • I gave the book to him.
    • I spoke to him earlier.
    • He devoted himself to education.
  4. So as to contact, press against, impact, etc.
    • I fixed the notice to the wall.
    • Put your shoulder to the door.
    • To clutch/clasp/hold/press one's hanky to one's mouth/nose/forehead.
  5. So as to become or reach: indicating a terminal state resulting from an action.
    • His face was beaten to a pulp.
    • I sang my baby to sleep.
    • Whisk the mixture to a smooth consistency.
  6. So as to bring about or elicit (an effect or outcome).
    • He made several bad-taste jokes to groans from the audience.
    • I tried complaining, but it was to no effect.
    • To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.
  7. Used after an adjective to indicate its application.
    • similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking.
  8. Indicating a degree or level reached.
    • It was to a large extent true.
    • We manufacture these parts to a very high tolerance.
    • This gauge is accurate to a second.
  9. Used to describe what something consists of or contains.
    • Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it.
    • There's a lot of sense to what he says.
    • The name has a nice ring to it.
  10. Denotes the end of a range.
    • It takes 2 to 4 weeks to process typical applications.
  11. As a.
    • With God to friend (with God as a friend); with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe); lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice); took her to wife (took her as a wife); was sold to slave (was...
  12. Used to indicate a ratio or comparison; compared to, as against.
    • one to one = 1:1
    • ten to one = 10:1.
    • I have ten dollars to your four.

Forms

ter t' 2

Related

at

Derived

hand-to-mouth hitherto how-to lean-to many-to-many many-to-one nice-to-have one-to-many one-to-one onto talking-to telling-to thereto thitherto to a hair to a man to and fro to-be tocome to-come today to-do to-draw to hand