To
[tə;beforeavowel;tʊ;stressed;tuː] or [tu,tə]
Definition
(prep.) The preposition to primarily indicates approach and arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing and attaining it, access; and also, motion or tendency without arrival; movement toward; -- opposed to from.
(prep.) Hence, it indicates motion, course, or tendency toward a time, a state or condition, an aim, or anything capable of being regarded as a limit to a tendency, movement, or action; as, he is going to a trade; he is rising to wealth and honor.
(prep.) In a very general way, and with innumerable varieties of application, to connects transitive verbs with their remoter or indirect object, and adjectives, nouns, and neuter or passive verbs with a following noun which limits their action. Its sphere verges upon that of for, but it contains less the idea of design or appropriation; as, these remarks were addressed to a large audience; let us keep this seat to ourselves; a substance sweet to the taste; an event painful to the mind; duty to God and to our parents; a dislike to spirituous liquor.
(prep.) As sign of the infinitive, to had originally the use of last defined, governing the infinitive as a verbal noun, and connecting it as indirect object with a preceding verb or adjective; thus, ready to go, i.e., ready unto going; good to eat, i.e., good for eating; I do my utmost to lead my life pleasantly. But it has come to be the almost constant prefix to the infinitive, even in situations where it has no prepositional meaning, as where the infinitive is direct object or subject; thus, I love to learn, i.e., I love learning; to die for one's country is noble, i.e., the dying for one's country. Where the infinitive denotes the design or purpose, good usage formerly allowed the prefixing of for to the to; as, what went ye out for see? (Matt. xi. 8).
(prep.) In many phrases, and in connection with many other words, to has a pregnant meaning, or is used elliptically.
(prep.) Extent; limit; degree of comprehension; inclusion as far as; as, they met us to the number of three hundred.
(prep.) Effect; end; consequence; as, the prince was flattered to his ruin; he engaged in a war to his cost; violent factions exist to the prejudice of the state.
(prep.) Apposition; connection; antithesis; opposition; as, they engaged hand to hand.
(prep.) Accord; adaptation; as, an occupation to his taste; she has a husband to her mind.
(prep.) Comparison; as, three is to nine as nine is to twenty-seven; it is ten to one that you will offend him.
(prep.) Addition; union; accumulation.
(prep.) Accompaniment; as, she sang to his guitar; they danced to the music of a piano.
(prep.) Character; condition of being; purpose subserved or office filled.
Inputed by Billy
Definition
prep. in the direction of: in order to: as far as; in accordance with in the character of: regarding concerning in connection with: expressing the end or purpose of an action as in many uses of the gerundial infinitive the sign of the infinitive mood: (B.) sometimes=for.—adv. to a place in view forward: to its place together.—To and fro backwards and forwards.
Checked by Aurora
Examples
- I told his impudence that the gilt pestle and mortar was quite ornament enough; as if I was born, indeed, to be a country surgeon's wife! William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- As shown in the original designs, Fig. 116, she is a double ender, whose sides were to be 5 feet thick. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Would to heaven I had never seen it! Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- For instance, if he took his supper after a hard day, to the Dead March in Saul, his food might be likely to sit heavy on him. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- You have behaved very ill to me, said his lordship. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I have something beyond this, but I will call it a defect, not an endowment, if it leads me to misery, while ye are happy. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- You ought not to have come today, she said in an altered voice; and suddenly she turned, flung her arms about him and pressed her lips to his. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- How we shall conciliate this little creature, said Mrs. Bretton to me, I don't know: she tastes nothing, and by her looks, she has not slept. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- But please to tell me at once what you have done. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The paper was first dipped into a solution of common salt, and then wiped dry, to diffuse the salt uniformly through the substance of the paper. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Constantly she talked to me about what I should do to be thy wife. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- But afterwards I shall be nothing to him. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I wired to Bristol for it last night. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- I am also to take it as a matter of fact that the proposal to withdraw from the engagement came, in the first instance, from YOU? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- You have now a--hum--a great position to support. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- But thy rest agen to-morrow's work, my dear. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- It was generally believed that there would be a flurry; that some of the extreme Southern States would go so far as to pass ordinances of secession. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- When to-morrow comes, and he knows that I am in the house, do you think---- She stopped again, and looked at me very earnestly. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- I wish to express my gratitude also to Miss Florence Bonnet for aid in the correction of the manuscript. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Yes, I mean to. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The boy's eyes had lighted with pleasure as I spoke, and I saw him glance from his rusty trappings to the magnificence of my own. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- We have been on the look-out for him, and there was some idea that he had got away to America. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- The Unquenchables had done their best to be worthy of the name, for like elves they had worked by night and conjured up a comical surprise. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- It was not good for him to talk too much, and when he was silent, we were silent too. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Dose, teaspoonful to one-half wineglassful, as needed. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- And then commenced a train of thought quite new to me. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- We went to the 'commissionaire' of the hotel--I don't know what a 'commissionaire' is, but that is the man we went to--and told him we wanted a guide. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- It was a thing to look at. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He had not dared to tell it sooner. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I warrant you she'd go to him fast enough without. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
Checked by Aurora