Back
Back adjective - Being at or in the part of something opposite the front part.
Usage example: she carried all the presents in the back door, as the children were playing in the front yard
Forward
Forward adverb - Toward or at a point lying in advance in space or time.
Usage example: if you keep walking forward, you'll hit that wall
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Magical Incantation: To send someone who drank the potion back or forward in time, the following words must be pronounced: "Per Horus et per Ra et per Solem Invictus ducere".
Source: Film / Les Visiteurs -
During solar flares, wormholes have a tendency to travel back in time, with the strength of the flare determining how far back/forward in time the wormhole can go.
Source: Our Wormholes Are Different - One answer is that the pelvis of all members of a group is similar in a variety of details, not merely whether the pubis points forward or back.
Source: Useful Notes / Dinosaurs
Cite this Source
Forward and Back. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/back/forward
Back & Forward. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/back/forward>.
Forward or Back. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/back/forward.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "back" and "forward" have occurred on timeline