‘Toward’ and ‘towards’ are two words that have the exact same meaning. The meaning of both the words is to move in a direction of something or to get closer and only difference between them is their spelling. There is no certain context in which you need to use either ‘toward’ or ‘towards’. You can use either of them.
In the United States and Canada; ‘toward’ is the preferred spelling of the word, while in other English speaking countries such as: Australia and the United Kingdom, ‘towards’ is the preferred spelling.
Examples of Toward and Towards in Sentences
Let’s have a look at some example sentences :
| In United States and Canada | In United Kingdom and Australia |
| Watch out, he’s coming toward you. | Watch out, he’s coming towards you. |
| What are you doing toward Christmas time? | What are you doing towards Christmas time? |
| He’s moving swiftly toward you. | He’s moving swiftly towards you. |
| Go in that direction toward the lights. | Go in that direction towards the lights. |
| Quick, it’s coming toward us! | Quick, it’s coming towards us! |
Both of the spellings of these words originated from Old English. Both the words are derived from the word ‘toweard’, which meant in the direction of.
Tip : Towards is also used with other verbs like go, put, make etc. to form a phrasal verb.
Sometimes Towards is also used to express how you feel about someone or something, for example She is not very friendly towards Mark.
The only time you should be conscious about whether to use ‘toward’ or ‘towards’ is when you are writing. The use of these words depends on the audience you are writing to or for.
If they are an American audience try to use without ‘s’ and if they are Australian or British, just add an ‘s’ to it.
At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide whether you are going to spell ‘toward’ with an ‘s’ or not. Nobody will judge you for it, it all boils down to your personal preference.
Next time when you are confused with ‘towards’ vs ‘ toward’ just refer the above mentioned tips and you’ll be all good.