to

I. preposition Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tō; akin to Old High German zuo to, Latin donec as long as, until Date: before 12th century 1. a. — used as a function word to indicate movement or an action or condition suggestive of movement toward a place, person, or thing reached <

drove to the city

> <

went back to the original idea

> <

went to lunch

> b. — used as a function word to indicate direction <

a mile to the south

> <

turned his back to the door

> <

a tendency to silliness

> c. — used as a function word to indicate contact or proximity <

applied polish to the table

> <

put her hand to her heart

> d. (1) — used as a function word to indicate the place or point that is the far limit <

100 miles to the nearest town

> (2) — used as a function word to indicate the limit of extent <

stripped to the waist

> e. — used as a function word to indicate relative position <

perpendicular to the floor

> 2. a. — used as a function word to indicate purpose, intention, tendency, result, or end <

came to our aid

> <

drink to his health

> b. — used as a function word to indicate the result of an action or a process <

broken all to pieces

> <

go to seed

> <

to their surprise, the train left on time

> 3. — used as a function word to indicate position or relation in time: as a. before <

five minutes to five

> b. till <

from eight to five

> <

up to now

> 4. — used as a function word to indicate addition, attachment, connection, belonging, possession, accompaniment, or response <

the key to the door

> <

danced to live music

> <

comes to her call

> 5. — used as a function word (1) to indicate the extent or degree (as of completeness or accuracy) <

loyal to a man

> <

generous to a fault

> or the extent and result (as of an action or a condition) <

beaten to death

> (2) to indicate the last or an intermediate point of a series <

moderate to cool temperatures

> 6. a. — used as a function word (1) to indicate a relation to one that serves as a standard <

inferior to her earlier works

> (2) to indicate similarity, correspondence, dissimilarity, or proportion <

compared him to a god

> b. — used as a function word to indicate agreement or conformity <

add salt to taste

> <

to my knowledge

> c. — used as a function word to indicate a proportion in terms of numbers or quantities <

400 to the box

> <

odds of ten to one

> 7. a. — used as a function word (1) to indicate the application of an adjective or a noun <

agreeable to everyone

> <

attitude to friends

> <

title to the property

> (2) to indicate the relation of a verb to its complement or to a complementary element <

refers to the traditions

> <

refers us to the traditions

> (3) to indicate the receiver of an action or the one for which something is done or exists <

spoke to his mother

> <

gives a dollar to the man

> and often used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusiveness (as of possession) or separateness <

had the house to themselves

> <

thought to herself

> b. — used as a function word to indicate agency <

falls to his opponent's blows

> 8. — used as a function word to indicate that the following verb is an infinitive <

wants to go

> and often used by itself at the end of a clause in place of an infinitive suggested by the preceding context <

knows more than she seems to

> II. adverb Date: before 12th century 1. a. — used as a function word to indicate direction toward <

feathers wrong end to

> <

run to and fro

> b. close to the wind <

the gale having gone over, we came to — R. H. Dana

> 2. a. into contact especially with the frame — used of a door or a window <

the door snapped to

> b. — used as a function word to indicate physical application or attachment <

he…hath set to his seal — John 3:33(Authorized Version)

> 3. — used as a function word to indicate application or attention <

will stand to — Shakespeare

> 4. to a state of consciousness or awareness <

brings her to with smelling salts

> 5. at hand ; by <

get to see 'em close to — Richard Llewellyn

>