: backward and forward
also
: between two places or persons
Synonyms
Examples of back-and-forth in a Sentence
Noun
after the usual back-and-forth of official gifts, the two leaders entered into a serious discussion
the others listened with relish to the back-and-forth between the two noted professors
Adverb
The chair rocked back and forth.
The children were shuttled back and forth between school and home.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia MacCary, Variety, 4 May 2024
The playful back-and-forth began when McCarthy posted two pics on Instagram on Monday taken at the Pastels Center Theatre Group gala with Hairspray director Adam Shankman.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 3 May 2024
After back-and-forth, Davidson reached an agreement with the committee to remove the offending signs by Tuesday, Nicole Camarda, the county clerk’s office’s marketing and communications specialist, told the Statesman via email.
—Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 2 May 2024
The actress had a fun back-and-forth with Venus on social media earlier in the week, and at the top of the month, caught up with PEOPLE about who specifically inspired her performance in the film, directed by Luca Guadagnino.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
With this in mind, Danda suggests parents keep their comments brief, which allows for more of a back-and-forth discussion and prevents the pitfall of the discussion from turning into a lecture.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 18 Apr. 2024
After some back-and-forth, Gosling’s character — wearing an electric blue shirt — agrees to sit somewhere else.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
As the back-and-forth continued, a resident who had an agenda item with a set start time approached the podium and interrupted the exchange.
—Tess Riski, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2024
The Derry Girls star said the back-and-forth was made more difficult because the two shows are very different.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2024
After some back and forth, mixed martial arts aficionado Zuckerberg called off the match in August, saying that Musk was being flaky.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
Those trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process in a regular back and forth to the floating platform, the official said.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
There was a lot of back and forth about what line would be drawn.
—Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 25 Apr. 2024
As your baby steers the wheel, this toy plays one of over 60 songs and sounds as the little dog moves back and forth.
—Christine Luff, Parents, 22 Apr. 2024
The back and forth brought a longstanding feud between world antidoping officials and their American counterparts into public view.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Lettieri said the San Diego-Tijuana region is a cross-border community in which people and goods move back and forth, usually for the good, but sometimes also for the bad.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Texting photos and funny memes back and forth from your phone to hers would have been a good way to establish a connection.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
Noun
The comment comes after a string of social media back-and-forths concerning the biopic that is now in development at Warner Bros. subsidiary the Wolper Organization with writer Jordan Allen-Dutton attached.
—Julia MacCary, Variety, 4 May 2024
The playful back-and-forth began when McCarthy posted two pics on Instagram on Monday taken at the Pastels Center Theatre Group gala with Hairspray director Adam Shankman.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 3 May 2024
After back-and-forth, Davidson reached an agreement with the committee to remove the offending signs by Tuesday, Nicole Camarda, the county clerk’s office’s marketing and communications specialist, told the Statesman via email.
—Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 2 May 2024
The actress had a fun back-and-forth with Venus on social media earlier in the week, and at the top of the month, caught up with PEOPLE about who specifically inspired her performance in the film, directed by Luca Guadagnino.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
With this in mind, Danda suggests parents keep their comments brief, which allows for more of a back-and-forth discussion and prevents the pitfall of the discussion from turning into a lecture.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 18 Apr. 2024
After some back-and-forth, Gosling’s character — wearing an electric blue shirt — agrees to sit somewhere else.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
As the back-and-forth continued, a resident who had an agenda item with a set start time approached the podium and interrupted the exchange.
—Tess Riski, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2024
The Derry Girls star said the back-and-forth was made more difficult because the two shows are very different.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
Adverb
The duo exchange haymaker volleys back and forth until Art leaps clean over the net and spikes the ball.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2024
After some back and forth, mixed martial arts aficionado Zuckerberg called off the match in August, saying that Musk was being flaky.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2024
Those trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process in a regular back and forth to the floating platform, the official said.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
There was a lot of back and forth about what line would be drawn.
—Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 25 Apr. 2024
As your baby steers the wheel, this toy plays one of over 60 songs and sounds as the little dog moves back and forth.
—Christine Luff, Parents, 22 Apr. 2024
The back and forth brought a longstanding feud between world antidoping officials and their American counterparts into public view.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Lettieri said the San Diego-Tijuana region is a cross-border community in which people and goods move back and forth, usually for the good, but sometimes also for the bad.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Texting photos and funny memes back and forth from your phone to hers would have been a good way to establish a connection.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'back-and-forth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near back-and-forth
Cite this Entry
“Back-and-forth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-and-forth. Accessed 9 May. 2024.
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