Toward vs. Towards: What is the correct usage?
Some words, especially verbs and nouns come with two correct spellings. The common examples include organise and organize, color and colour, neighbor and neighbour among others. Apart from nouns and verbs, there are some prepositions too which come with two correct spellings. That’s why both toward and towards exist in the dictionary.
Difference between toward and towards
As already mentioned, both the spellings are correct, meaning the same thing: In the direction of. While toward is used in the US and Canada, towards is preferred in other English-speaking countries like UK and Australia. Both the spellings are used interchangeably. Though both the spellings are acceptable, it is better to use the version preferred in the country one lives in. How does one remember which is the British spelling and what is the American version? There is a theory behind this. In American English, the simplified versions of British spellings are mostly used. The former uses fewer letters. That is why the Americans omit the letter ‘s’ from towards and use it as toward.
History of the word
The origin of both towards and toward can be traced back to Old English. Both the spellings originated from toweard, an Old English word meaning ‘in the direction of’. However, toward is the older version which originated in the 5th century. In the classic The Canterbury Tales, written in Middle English between 1387 and 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer used toward instead of towards. English language spellings hadn’t been standardised during that time. The usage of ‘towards’ became popular from the 17th century and remained the dominant spelling till 19th century when Americans started using ‘toward’. The time period of this transition has been found from various studies revolving around American books, magazines and newspapers.
Using Toward and Towards
Though towards or toward typically means ‘in the direction of’, there are other usages of this word as well. It is also used to mean ‘in relation to’ and ‘for the purpose of’. The usage of ‘in relation to’ is found when people talk about their feelings towards something. If someone is working towards achieving something, the word is used to mean ‘for the purpose of’. Here are a few examples of different usages of toward/towards in sentences:
Example 1: The cat rushed towards (or toward) the mouse.
Explanation: Here, towards has been used to mean ‘in the direction of’.
Example 2: Unfortunately, his emotion towards (or toward) her has changed drastically.
Explanation: Here, towards has been used to mean ‘in relation to’.
Example 3: The completion of each of and every task counts towards (or toward) achieving our ultimate goal.
Explanation: Here, towards has been used to mean ‘for the purpose of’.