“Toward” vs. “Towards”: Is One Actually More Correct?
The Short Answer: Both Are Correct
“Toward” and “towards” mean the same thing and are both grammatically correct. The main difference is regional preference: toward is more common in American and Canadian English, while towards is generally favored in British English and many other varieties. Choose the form that suits your audience—and try to use it consistently.
One Tiny “S,” One Surprisingly Big Debate
English speakers can disagree passionately about very small things. The Oxford comma has launched countless arguments. People still eye whom with suspicion. And one innocent letter has turned toward and towards into grammatical rivals.
Consider these sentences:
- The cat crept toward the unattended sandwich.
- The cat crept towards the unattended sandwich.
Did the s change the cat’s direction, speed, or sandwich-related intentions? Not at all. Both sentences describe exactly the same movement.
According to Merriam-Webster’s guide to “toward” and “towards”, the two forms have been used interchangeably for centuries. Neither is a misspelling, a modern corruption, or evidence that civilization is moving toward—or towards—disaster.
What Do “Toward” and “Towards” Mean?
In ordinary modern English, toward and towards are prepositions. They can express several related ideas, all involving direction, position, relationship, or progress.
Physical Direction
The most obvious meaning is “in the direction of.”
- Maya walked toward the station.
- The dog ran towards the lake.
- Everyone turned toward the mysterious noise.
The destination does not necessarily have to be reached. If Maya walks toward the station, she is moving in its direction—but she might become distracted by a bakery and abandon public transportation entirely.
Position or Proximity
The words can also indicate a position near a particular place or part of something.
- We sat toward the back of the theater.
- The café is towards the northern edge of town.
- His name appears toward the bottom of the list.
Time
Both forms can mean “near” or “shortly before” a time.
- The rain stopped toward evening.
- The plot becomes stranger towards the end.
- We usually travel toward the beginning of June.
Attitudes and Relationships
They can describe how someone feels or behaves in relation to another person or subject.
- Her attitude toward the proposal changed.
- He has always been kind towards animals.
- Public opinion shifted toward the new policy.
Progress, Purpose, or Contribution
Finally, toward and towards can show movement toward a goal—even when nobody is physically going anywhere.
- This is a step toward solving the problem.
- She put $50 towards the gift.
- The course counts toward your degree.
- They are working towards an agreement.
The Cambridge Grammar explanation of “towards” and “toward” confirms that both forms can perform these jobs. The presence or absence of the final s does not create a difference in meaning.
The Real Difference Is Regional
Although both forms are standard, they are not equally common everywhere.
| Variety of English | More common form | Other form acceptable? | |---|---|---| | American English | toward | Yes | | Canadian English | toward | Yes | | British English | towards | Yes | | Australian and New Zealand English | towards | Yes |
An American newspaper is therefore more likely to report that a storm is moving toward the coast. A British newspaper may say that it is moving towards the coast. The storm, unconcerned by regional language preferences, will continue doing whatever storms do.
These are tendencies, not border-control regulations. Plenty of Americans naturally use towards, especially in conversation, and British writers sometimes use toward. Merriam-Webster identifies toward as more common in the United States and Canada while noting that towards tends to be preferred elsewhere.
The distinction resembles other choices shaped by dialect and pronunciation. If regional variation interests you, the debate over “a historic” and “an historic” offers another example of two legitimate forms living under the same grammatical roof.
Where Did the Extra “S” Come From?
The rivalry is much older than modern British and American English. Forms with and without the final s appeared early in the word’s history.
Toward developed from Old English elements roughly corresponding to to and a suffix meaning “turned” or “in the direction of.” Related directional words include forward, backward, inward, and outward. Many of these also acquired versions ending in -wards, such as forwards, backwards, and outwards.
Crucially, the s in towards is not a plural ending. One person may walk towards a door just as easily as 12 people may walk toward it. It is simply part of a historical variation that survived.
Merriam-Webster traces the two forms back to the word’s early history, explaining that they have coexisted since around the ninth century. In other words, this is not a new disagreement created by careless texting. English has had more than a thousand years to choose a winner and has cheerfully refused.
Does Formal Writing Require “Toward”?
Not universally. Formality does not decide the question; audience and editorial style do.
In American professional, academic, and journalistic writing, toward is usually the safer default because it matches the dominant regional preference. In writing intended for a British audience, towards will often feel more natural.
However, towards does not suddenly become incorrect when it enters an American office. Nor does toward become ungrammatical when it crosses the Atlantic. At most, the less familiar version may look slightly foreign or unusual to some readers.
If you are writing for an employer, publisher, school, or organization, check its style guide. A house style may prefer one form—not because the other is bad grammar, but because editors enjoy consistency almost as much as they enjoy tracked changes.
Should You Be Consistent?
Generally, yes. Consistency helps writing feel deliberate.
Compare:
We moved toward the exit, edged towards the stairs, and hurried toward the parking lot.
Nothing here is grammatically wrong, but the switching may look accidental. Choosing one form creates a smoother sentence:
We moved toward the exit, edged toward the stairs, and hurried toward the parking lot.
Do not, however, “correct” the spelling inside a quotation simply to match your preference. If a British author wrote towards, preserve it when quoting that author directly.
Consistency is useful, but clarity matters more. That principle applies to many supposed grammar absolutes, including grammar rules you can sometimes ignore when they do nothing to help the reader.
A Quick Guide for Choosing
When you must decide between toward and towards, use this four-step guide:
Identify your audience.
Choose toward for a mainly American or Canadian readership and towards for a mainly British readership.Check the required style.
Follow the preferences of your publisher, employer, instructor, or publication.Stay consistent.
Pick one form within a document unless you are preserving quoted material.Do not panic.
If no style has been specified, either word is correct.
This flexibility is not unusual. English frequently offers more than one acceptable construction. Even choices such as “none is” and “none are” can depend on meaning and context rather than one rigid commandment.
Test Yourself: Which Version Is Correct?
Which sentences are grammatically acceptable?
- The child ran toward her father.
- The child ran towards her father.
- We are moving toward a solution.
- We are moving towards a solution.
- The donation will go toward the repairs.
- The donation will go towards the repairs.
The answer is all six. The choice changes the regional flavor, not the meaning or grammatical structure.
The Final Verdict
Neither toward nor towards is more correct in all forms of English. They are two standard versions of the same preposition, carrying the same meanings and performing the same grammatical work.
Use toward if you are following American or Canadian conventions. Use towards if you are following British or many other international conventions. If no convention applies, choose whichever sounds natural and keep moving—toward or towards your next sentence.