forwarded

IPA/fˈɔːwədɪd/
KK[fˈɔrwɚdɪd]IPA/fˈɔːrwərdɪd/

forwarded — verb

1. to take a letter, email, or parcel that someone first sent to you and pass it al

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to take a letter, email, or parcel that someone first sent to you and pass it along to a different person, often at their newer address.

Example

Henrietta forwarded the email from her boss to the whole design team.

forward + email + to + [group of people]

Please forward any letters that arrive for me to my new flat in Lisbon.

imperative + forward + to + [new address]

Common collocations
  • forward an email
  • forward the message
  • forward the mail
  • forward to a colleague
  • kindly forward
Synonyms
  • send on

    informal phrasal verb with the same meaning, very common in spoken British English

  • redirect

    more formal; suggests an official rerouting, often by the postal service

  • pass along

    informal; emphasises that you are sharing what you received with someone else

Grammar Patterns

forward + [item] + to + [person]

forward + [item]

Usage Note

Object must be something received first — a letter, email, message, or parcel. The recipient is usually marked with 'to' or appears as an indirect object before the item.

Common Mistakes

I forwarded a new email to my brother.
I forwarded the email from Mum to my brother.
you can only 'forward' something you received first, not something you wrote yourself.
She forwarded him about the meeting.
She forwarded him the email about the meeting.
'forward' needs a physical or digital item as its direct object, not just a topic.

forwarded — adjective

forwarded — adverb

forwarded — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four verbs describe moving something from one person to another, but the starting point and tone differ. 'Send' is the most general — you can send something you have just written or made yourself. 'Forward', by contrast, almost always means passing on something you received first, so it carries a sense of relaying rather than originating. 'Redirect' is more formal and usually involves an official rerouting, such as mail being sent from an old address to a new one by the postal service. 'Pass along' is the most informal and emphasises sharing, often spoken: 'Please pass along the news to Mei-Lin.' Use 'forward' for emails and letters, 'redirect' for official changes of address, and 'pass along' for casual sharing among friends.

forward ↗send ↗redirectpass along

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • kindly forward
  • quickly forward
  • automatically forward

Phrases

  • forward the email
  • forward the message to a colleague
  • kindly forward this to

Prepositions

  • forward to
  • forward from
  • forward on

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word goes back to Old English 'foreweard', built from 'fore-' (in front, before) and '-weard' (in the direction of), the same '-ward' element you see in 'toward' and 'backward'. For centuries it worked mainly as an adverb meaning 'toward the front', and the adjective and verb uses grew out of that core sense. The modern verb meaning 'send on what you received' became common with the rise of the postal service, when letters were physically redirected from one address to another, and was naturally adopted for email in the late twentieth century.