for

From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, on account of, for the sake of, through, because of, owing to, from, by reason of, as to, in order to”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-.

Cognate with foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language successors (e.g. Spanish para (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

• (stressed) enPR: fôr
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /fɔː(ɹ)/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /fɔɹ/
  • (General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /foː(ɹ)/

  • Audio (US)

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• Audio

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  • Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
• (unstressed) enPR: fər
  • (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /fə(ɹ)/
  • (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /fɘ(ɹ)/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /fɚ/, IPA^(key): /fə/

  • Audio (US), unstressed, in the phrase "Wait for me".

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• Audio (AU)

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• Homophone: fore, (with "horse-hoarse" merger) Homophone: four

for

1. Because, as, since.
   • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act III scene iv:

     […] Dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skillful and deadly.

   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night:

     […] nor is there found, in sea or on land, a sweeter or pleasanter of gifts than she; for she is prime in comeliness and seemlihead of face and symmetrical shape of perfect grace; her check is ruddy dight, her brow flower white, her teeth gem-bright, her eyes blackest black and whitest white, her hips of heavy weight, her waist slight and her favour exquisite.

   • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 23:

     "By means of the Golden Cap I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carry you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler."

for

1. Towards.

   The astronauts headed for the moon.

2. Directed at, intended to belong to.

   I have something for you.

3. In honor of, or directed towards the celebration or event of.

   We're having a birthday party for Janet.

   The cake is for Tom and Helen's anniversary.

   The mayor gave a speech for the charity gala.

4. Supporting.

   Antonym: against

   All those for the motion raise your hands.

5. Because of.

   He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him.

   (UK usage) He looks better for having lost weight.

   She was the worse for drink.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     with fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath

   • 1867, Frederick Metcalfe, The Oxonian in Iceland (page 202)

     "A summerly day for you," said my host; "You ought to be here in winter. It is impossible then to get out of the doors for the snow and wind. Ugh! dreadful weather!"

6. Over a period of time.

   I've lived here for three years.

   They fought for days over a silly pencil.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Garth

     To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day.

7. Throughout an extent of space.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     For many miles about / There's scarce a bush.

8. On behalf of.

   I will stand in for him.

9. Instead of, or in place of.
   • Bible, Exodus xxi. 23, 24

     And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

10. In order to obtain or acquire.

    I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday.

    He's going for his doctorate.

    Do you want to go for coffee?

    People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers.

    Can you go to the store for some eggs?

    I'm saving up for a car.

    Don't wait for an answer.

    What did he ask you for?

    • (Can we date this quote?) Denham

      He writes not for money, nor for praise.

11. In the direction of: marks a point one is going toward.

    Run for the hills!

    He was headed for the door when he remembered.

    • (Can we date this quote?) Francis Bacon

      We sailed from Peru for China and Japan.

12. By the standards of, usually with the implication of those standards being lower than one might otherwise expect.

    Fair for its day.

    She's spry for an old lady.

13. Despite, in spite of.
    • 1892 August 6, Charles Dickens, "The Unbidden Guest", in All the Year Round, page 133,

      Mr. Joseph Blenkinshaw was perhaps not worth quite so much as was reported; but for all that he was a very wealthy man […]

    • 1968, J. J. Scarisbrick, Henry VIII (page 240)

      For all his faults, there had been something lofty and great about him - as a judge, as a patron of education, as a builder, as an international figure.

14. Used to indicate the subject of a to-infinitive.

    For that to happen now is incredibly unlikely. (=It is incredibly unlikely that that will happen now.)

    All I want is for you to be happy. (=All I want is that you be happy.)

15. (chiefly US) Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio

    In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day

16. (cricket) Used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen.

    At close of play, England were 305 for 3.

17. To be, or as being.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Cowley

      We take a falling meteor for a star.

    • (Can we date this quote?) John Locke

      If a man can be fully assured of anything for a truth, without having examined, what is there that he may not embrace for true?

    • (Can we date this quote?) Dryden

      Most of our ingenious young men take up some cry'd-up English poet for their model.

    • (Can we date this quote?) Philips

      But let her go for an ungrateful woman.

    • 1976, Louis L’Amour, The Rider of Lost Creek, Bantam Dell (→ISBN), Chapter 2:

      They knew him for a stranger.

18. (obsolete) Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Beaumont and Fletcher

      We'll have a bib, for spoiling of thy doublet.

19. Used to construe various verbs (see the entries for individual phrasal verbs).

• (eye dialects): fo, fo', fur

• against

• 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
• for at OneLook Dictionary Search
• for in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

• 'fro, ORF, fro, orf

for

1. a kind of fish

for m (plural fors)

1. prize, worth
2. forum

for

1. Mixed mutation of mor.

From Old Norse fóðr, from Middle Low German vōder (“linen, sheath”), from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”).

• fór

• IPA^(key): /foːr/, [foːˀɐ̯]
• Rhymes: -oːɐ̯

for n (singular definite foret, plural indefinite for)

1. lining (covering for the inside of something)
2. lining (material used for inside covering)

• IPA^(key): /fɔ/, [fʌ]

for

1. too (more than enough; as too much)
2. in front
3. forward

for

1. for, because

for

1. for
2. of
3. to
4. on
5. at
6. before, in front of
7. by

See fare (“to rush, run”).

• IPA^(key): /foːr/, [foːˀɐ̯]

for, fór or farede

1. past tense of fare.

Compare Latin forās (“outside”).

• Audio

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for

1. away, far, gone
   • 1998, Henrik Ibsen, trans. Odd Tangerud Puphejmo : Dramo en tri aktoj,

     NORA (komencas elpreni el la skatolo, sed baldaŭ forĵetas ĉion). Ho, se mi kuraĝus eliri. Se nur neniu venus. Se nur ne dume okazus io hejme. Stulta babilaĵo; neniu venos. Nur ne pensi. Brosi la mufon. Delikataj gantoj, delikataj gantoj. For el la pensoj! For, for! Unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses — (krias) Jen, tie ili venas —

     NORA (begins to unpack the box, but soon pushes it all away). Oh, if I dared go out. If only no one would come. If only I could be sure nothing would happen here in the meantime. Stupid nonsense; no one will come. Only I mustn't think about it. I will brush my muff. What lovely, lovely gloves. Out of my thoughts, Away, away! One, two, three, four, five, six— (Screams) There, someone's coming—

From Latin forum; doublet of fur and forum. Unrelated to French fort.

• IPA^(key): /fɔʁ/

for m (plural not attested)

1. (obsolete) Only used in for intérieur

• “for” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Inflected form of ir (“to go”).

for

1. first-person singular future subjunctive of ir
2. third-person singular future subjunctive of ir

Inflected form of ser (“to be”).

for

1. first-person singular future subjunctive of ser
2. third-person singular future subjunctive of ser

• IPA^(key): /fɔːr/
• Rhymes: -ɔːr

for f (genitive singular forar, nominative plural forir)

1. mud
2. bog

• forarpittur

Borrowing from English far (from). Compare Esperanto for.

• IPA^(key): /fɔr/

for

1. far from, away from

From Proto-Italic *fāōr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂ti (“to speak”).

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /for/, [fɔr]

for (present infinitive fārī, perfect active fātus sum); first conjugation, deponent

1. I speak, talk, say.

¹The present passive infinitive in -ier is a rare poetic form which is attested for this verb.

• (say): dīcō, loquor, āiō

• fābula
• fāma
• fās

• for in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• for in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• for in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • good Latin: sermo latinus (opp. sermo parum latinus) (cf. sect. VII. 2., note For the use of adverbs...)
    
  • thought and deed: consilia et facta (cf. sect. X. 1, note For 'thoughts and deeds'...)
    
  • (ambiguous) to translate freely: his fere verbis, hoc fere modo convertere, transferre
    
  • (ambiguous) synonyms: vocabula idem fere declarantia
    
  • (ambiguous) to talk of a subject which was then the common topic of conversation: in eum sermonem incidere, qui tum fere multis erat in ore
    
  • (ambiguous) as usually happens: ut fit, ita ut fit, ut fere fit
    
  • (ambiguous) he spoke (very much) as follows: haec (fere) dixit
    
  • (ambiguous) this is very much what Cicero said: haec Ciceronis fere
    
• Karl Gottlob Zumpt, 1846, A school-grammar of the Latin language, p146

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔrː/ (unstressed)
• IPA^(key): /fɔ/ (unstressed)

• Audio

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for

1. too

   for ung ― too young

   for langt ― too far

• altfor

for

1. for

• fordi

From Old Norse fóðr

for n (definite singular foret, indefinite plural for, definite plural fora or forene)

1. alternative form of fôr

• dyrefor
• fiskefor

for

1. for

for

1. past tense of fare.

• “for” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /fɔrː/

• Audio

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for

1. for, because

   Eg joggar kvar dag, for eg vil ikkje bli feit.

   I jog every day, because I don't want to get fat.

From Old Norse fóðr

• IPA^(key): /fuːr/

for n (definite singular foret, indefinite plural for, definite plural fora)

1. alternative form of fôr

• dyrefor
• fiskefor

From Old Norse fyrir

• IPA^(key): /fɔrː/

• Audio

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for

1. for

   Pass deg for snøskred!

   Look out for avalanches!

2. of

   Eg bur sør for byen.

   I live south of the city.

for

1. too

   Det er for langt å gå.

   It is too far to walk.

2. in favour of

   Eg var for å bli med i FN.

   I was in favour of joining the UN.

• innanfor
• utanfor
• utfor

• “for” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

for

1. away

From Proto-Germanic *fura

• fore

• IPA^(key): /ˈfor/

for

1. for

• Middle English: for
  • Scots: for
  • English: for

see faran

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoːr/

fōr

1. first-person singular preterite of faran
2. third-person singular preterite of faran

From Proto-Germanic *fōrō (“trip; wagon”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoːr/

fōr f (nominative plural fōra)

1. journey, going, course, expedition, approach; passage, lifestyle, way of life

From Proto-Germanic *farhaz (“pig”). Cognate with Middle Low German vōr (“lean young pig”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoːr/

fōr m

1. hog, pig

• IPA^(key): /for/

From Proto-Celtic *sweseros, from *swīs (“you (pl.)”); compare Latin vester.

• far, bar

for (triggers eclipsis)

1. your (plural)
2. you (plural; as the object of a preposition that takes the genitive)
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 16d8

     Bíuu-sa oc irbáig dar far cenn-si fri Maccidóndu.

     I am boasting about you to the Macedonians.

• sethar

• Irish: bhur
• Scottish Gaelic: ur

From Proto-Celtic *uɸor, from Proto-Indo-European *uper.

• far

for (with accusative or dative)

1. on, over
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 6b22

     Ní latt aní ara·rethi et ní lat in cách forsa·mmitter.

     What you assail is not yours, and not everyone whom you judge is yours.

Combinations with definite articles:

• forsin(d) (masculine and feminine accusative singular, all genders dative singular)
• forsa (neuter accusative singular)
• for(s)na (accusative plural)
• for(s)naib (dative plural)

Combinations with possessive determiners:

• form (“on my”)
• fort (“on your sg”)
• fora (“on his/her/its/their”)

Combinations with relative pronouns:

• for(s)a (“on whom, on which”)

• “1 for (‘on, over’)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “2 for, far, bar, uar (‘your’)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

for

1. Alternative form of fora

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfoɾ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfoʁ/

for

1. first-person singular (eu) future subjunctive of ir
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) future subjunctive of ir

   Quando for, avise-me.

   When she goes, let me know.

3. first-person singular (eu) future subjunctive of ser
4. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) future subjunctive of ser

   Enquanto ela for viva, merece todo o nosso respeito.

   As long as she is alive, she deserves all our respect.

Borrowed from English for.

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔʁ/, /ˈfɔɹ/

for m (plural fors)

1. (programming) for loop (a loop that uses a counter)

for

1. past tense of fara.

From Old French forn, from Latin furnus.

for m (plural fors)

1. oven