What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

To vs Along - What's the difference?

to | along |

As a noun to

is thaw, weather conditions that make snow and ice melt.

As a preposition along is

by the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.

As an adverb along is

in company; together.

to

English

Alternative forms

* (dialectal) ter * (contraction) t' * (abbreviation)

Particle

(en-part)
  • I want to leave.
    He asked me what to do.
    I don’t know how to say it.
    I have places to''' go and people '''to see.
  • * 1711 , :
  • To' err is human, ' to forgive divine.
  • * , Scene 1:
  • To be, or not to be: that is the question: /
  • * 2010 July, , headline [http://web.archive.org/web/20100705003703/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gfMucgz8wUGUNUNXRyIyqzY6lWwQD9GM98N83]:
  • Odds are, BP to get new CEO this year
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=April 10 , author=Alistair Magowan , title=Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=To' that end, the home supporters were in good voice ' to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.}}
  • "Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to , but it was closed."
    If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to .

    Derived terms

    * going to / gonna * got to / gotta * have to / hafta * ought to / oughta * supposed to / supposta * used to / usta * want to / wanna * fixing to / finna

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • In the direction of, and arriving at.
  • We are walking to the shop.
  • * 2013 September 28, , " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
  • Driven by a perceived political need to adopt a hard-line stance, Mr. Cameron’s coalition government has imposed myriad new restrictions, the aim of which is to reduce net migration to Britain to below 100,000.
  • He devoted himself to education.
    They drank to his health.
  • That is something to do.
  • His face was beaten to a pulp.
  • similar to''' ...'', ''relevant '''to''' ...'', ''pertinent '''to''' ...'', ''I was nice '''to''' him'', ''he was cruel '''to''' her'', ''I am used '''to walking.
  • (arithmetic)
  • one to one = 1:1
    ten to one = 10:1.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=April 22 , author=Sam Sheringham , title=Liverpool 0-1 West Brom , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.}}
  • (arithmetic) .
  • Three squared or three to the second power is nine.
    Three to the power of two is nine.
    Three to the second is nine.
  • I gave the book to him.
  • (time) Preceding.
  • ten to''' ten'' = 9:50; ''We're going to leave at ten '''to (the hour).
  • (Canada, UK, Newfoundland, West Midlands) at
  • Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

    See also

    * at

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.
  • Please push the door to .
  • * 1913 ,
  • He went in his room, pushed the door to , without fastening the latch.
  • (nautical) Into the wind.
  • Synonyms

    * closed, shut

    Antonyms

    * open, ajar

    See also

    * come to * heave to * lean-to * set-to * to and fro * (English Citations of "to")

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

    Statistics

    *

    along

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
  • * {{quote-book, 1892, Sir (Arthur Conan Doyle), chapter=(The Adventure of the Cooper Beeches), (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), page=294 citation
  • , passage=They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor}}
  • * , chapter=3
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Stephen P. Lownie], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/david-m-pelz David M. Pelz
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Stents to Prevent Stroke , passage=As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.}}
  • In a line with, with a progressive motion on; onward on; forward on.
  • * Bible, 1 (w) vi. 12
  • The kinewent along the highway.
  • * {{quote-book, 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, chapter=The Tutor's Daughter, Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page=266 citation
  • , passage=In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.}}
  • * {{quote-book, 1892, Sir (Arthur Conan Doyle), chapter=(The Boscombe Valley Mystery), (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), page=93 citation
  • , passage=Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows.}}
  • * , chapter=13
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time.}}

    Synonyms

    * alongst (archaic)

    Derived terms

    * alongside * herealong * therealong * wherealong

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In company; together.
  • Onward, forward, with progressive action.
  • * , chapter=1
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.}}

    Synonyms

    * alongst (archaic)

    Derived terms

    * go along to get along

    Derived terms

    {{der3 , all along , along of , along the lines , along those lines , along with , come along , get along , rock along }}

    Statistics

    *