fro
fro — adverb
1. moving first in one direction and then back again, often repeatedly between two
moving first in one direction and then back again, often repeatedly between two places; used only in the fixed phrase 'to and fro'.
Tomás watched the pendulum swing to and fro above the wooden clock.
fixed phrase: 'to and fro'
Jisoo watched the shuttle bus travel to and fro between the hotel and the airport.
collocation: travel to and fro
A man in a grey coat paced to and fro outside the hospital entrance.
The mother gently rocked the wooden cradle to and fro until the baby fell asleep.
Mert's eyes moved to and fro as he checked the numbers on the spreadsheet.
- back and forth
more common in everyday speech; 'to and fro' is slightly more formal or literary
文法句型
to and fro + verb of motion
用法筆記
In modern English, 'fro' never appears alone. It survives only inside the fixed phrase 'to and fro,' which describes a repeated back-and-forth movement. The phrase can modify verbs such as move, walk, swing, rock, and travel.
常見錯誤
fro — preposition
1. an old form of the preposition 'from,' used in medieval and early modern English
an old form of the preposition 'from,' used in medieval and early modern English but no longer used in modern speech or writing.
A 1603 diary entry notes that a man rode fro one village to another.
archaic register: 'fro' = 'from'
A Tudor document says the queen sent a letter fro her London palace.
A wool merchant in 1370 rode fro York to London with twelve bales.
A medieval love poem begins 'I come fro the far hills to see your face.'
- from
the modern replacement for this archaic form
文法句型
fro + noun phrase
用法筆記
This prepositional sense is now completely archaic. In modern English, 'from' is always used instead. The only place 'fro' survives today is inside the adverb phrase 'to and fro.'