How to Use back-and-forth in a Sentence

back-and-forth

1 of 2 noun
Definition of back-and-forthnext
Synonyms for back-and-forthnext
  • Books The back-and-forth over ‘The Blind Side’ misses the big picture.
    — Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023
  • The game was a true back-and-forth affair with 15 lead changes and nine ties.
    — Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 25 Feb. 2023
  • For most of the night, the two teams traded blows in a back-and-forth contest.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024
  • So after all this back-and-forth, the Supreme Court weighed in on April 21.
    — Josh Fischman, Scientific American, 10 May 2023
  • This should be done in a short, quick back-and-forth motion.
    — Brad Lanphear, Men's Health, 10 June 2023
  • Expect to see more back-and-forth moves between the US and Nvidia in the months ahead.
    — Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 13 Nov. 2023
  • And many of you are gracious enough to engage with me in a back-and-forth.
    — Vulture, 2 Nov. 2023
  • And those tense early minutes set the tone for a back-and-forth game.
    — Kansas City Star, 9 Feb. 2024
  • That had a lot to do with me and my back-and-forth with sobriety.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2023
  • Watch the co-hosts’ back-and-forth in the video above, then drop your comments below.
    — Gabriela Silva, TVLine, 9 Dec. 2024
  • The Clippers and Suns keep going back-and-forth in the fourth quarter.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2023
  • After a back-and-forth first half hour, the Timbers broke through.
    — oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2023
  • And this is the latest in the back-and-forth between the Colts owner and the Commanders over the course of the last year.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 8 May 2023
  • That’s the back-and-forth of this evolving and quite sobering matter.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
  • The back-and-forth continues until about the 58-minute mark.
    — Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2023
  • Luckily, the back-and-forth banter was all in fun and for a good cause.
    — Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 25 May 2023
  • After a back-and-forth first quarter, Duke used a four-goal run to build a 7-4 lead.
    — USA TODAY, 27 May 2023
  • Trump telephoned his adversary, and the two had a fiery back-and-forth.
    — David Freedlander, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
  • These processes can take a long time, said Messinger, with lots of back-and-forth.
    — Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
  • Neither side led by more than two goals in a back-and-forth battle.
    — Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2023
  • The back-and-forth comes at a critical moment for Mejia.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
  • Here is a back-and-forth on social media: There are many things to say about all this.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 27 Dec. 2024
  • Then, the back-and-forth between her and Mitchell continued on.
    — Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
  • Forbes chronicled their back-and-forth for the top spot more than a dozen times just last month alone.
    — Michael Sheldrick, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
  • The use of the private judge kept many of the details from Jolie and Pitt’s legal back-and-forth under wraps.
    — Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Dec. 2024
  • The move has led to a tense back-and-forth with the show’s venue, which taunted the Virginia native online.
    — Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
  • The team says the director’s hands-on role in the VFX helped with planning, reduced the back-and-forth and streamlined the work.
    — Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Just like in Game 1, both teams engaged in back-and-forth play, but neither scored.
    — Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2023
  • He also has been locked in a bizarre legal back-and-forth with Disney for the past year.
    — Tori Otten, The New Republic, 28 Sep. 2023
  • As the final whistle blew, the passion of the back-and-forth contest led to a postgame scuffle.
    — Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2024
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back and forth

2 of 2 adverb
  • The chair rocked back and forth.
  • The children were shuttled back and forth between school and home.
  • Things were yo-yoing back and forth right up to the 11th hour.
    — Jp Brammer, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Praise music floats in the air and the crowd rocks back and forth.
    — Sam Kestenbaum, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2022
  • The two had been going back and forth in the race all year.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 30 July 2024
  • Pull it tight and move it back and forth within the guide.
    — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 7 Dec. 2023
  • Plants sway in the current and fish dart back and forth.
    — Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 20 June 2024
  • There was a lot of back and forth about what line would be drawn.
    — Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 25 Apr. 2024
  • Shahrzad goes back and forth as to whether the protests will succeed.
    — Omid Khazani and Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2022
  • The camera pans back and forth searching for the whales.
    — Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024
  • Rock your rolling pin back and forth over the parchment to flatten the dough.
    — Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appétit, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The two teams went back and forth trading blows from there.
    — Lila Bromberg, Hartford Courant, 3 July 2022
  • As the actors volleyed back and forth, so did the tension.
    — Steven Vargasstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2023
  • From this point, the show moves back and forth in time leading up to Paris.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 July 2024
  • Despite the back and forth, Belushi filed for divorce in 2021.
    — Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Roll the roller from the jaw to the cheekbone and repeat, avoiding moving the roller back and forth.
    — Lauren Manaker, Health, 27 Mar. 2023
  • And this back and forth doesn't serve people like them at all.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Protect your hands with work gloves or use grilling tongs to scrape the foil back and forth across the grates.
    — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 3 July 2023
  • What is the back and forth before the explosion (if any)?
    — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 5 July 2023
  • It’s been a really good camp in regards to the back and forth.
    — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 14 Aug. 2023
  • But after a bit of back and forth, Barkley stuck with his first love.
    — Bychloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2022
  • The game moved back and forth: The U.S. scored in the first 10 minutes of the match, and the English scored about 10 minutes later.
    — Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 25 July 2023
  • One of the girls was going back and forth in the comments with people.
    — Essence, 25 July 2022
  • There is no cell service in most of the park, and the men spent three hours driving back and forth on the road.
    — Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 3 Aug. 2023
  • There's more to med ball training than just tossing the ball back and forth.
    — David Otey, Men's Health, 20 July 2023
  • Despite the back and forth, the bill moved to second reading.
    — Angele Latham, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
  • The lights can be switched back and forth to whatever suits your mood.
    — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, 14 Dec. 2022
  • The two would continue to throw shade back and forth in the years that followed.
    — Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024
  • Speaking of that back and forth, Debora recently told me that the scenes with Grace and Kate were some of her favorites to write.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
  • For a quick, glow-boosting scrub, pour some of your go-to body wash onto the scarf, work it into a lather, and wash by wrapping the scarf around your limbs and moving it back and forth.
    — Jenny Berg, Allure, 23 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'back-and-forth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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