[to] prep [ME, fr. OE to; akin to OHG zuo to, L donec as long as, until] (bef. 12c) 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 ~ the city" "went back ~ the original idea" b--used as a function word to indicate direction "a mile ~ the south" "turned his back ~ the door" "a tendency ~ silliness" c--used as a function word to indicate contact or proximity "applied polish ~ the table" "put her hand ~ her heart" d (1)--used as a function word to indicate the place or point that is the far limit "100 miles ~ the nearest town" (2)--used as a function word to indicate the limit of extent "stripped ~ the waist" e--used as a function word to indicate relative position "perpendicular ~ the floor"
2. a--used as a function word to indicate purpose, intention, tendency, result, or end "came ~ our aid" "drink ~ his health" b--used as a function word to indicate the result of an action or a process "broken all ~ pieces" "go ~ seed" "~ 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 ~ five" b: till "from eight ~ five" "up ~ now" 4--used as a function word to indicate addition, attachment, connection, belonging, possession, accompaniment, or response "the key ~ the door" "danced ~ live music" "comes ~ her call" 5--used as a function word (1) to indicate the extent or degree (as of completeness or accuracy) "loyal ~ a man" "generous ~ a fault" or the extent and result (as of an action or a condition) "beaten ~ death" (2) to indicate the last or an intermediate point of a series "moderate ~ cool temperatures"
6. a--used as a function word (1) to indicate a relation to one that serves as a standard "inferior ~ her earlier works" (2) to indicate similarity, correspondence, dissimilarity, or proportion "compared him ~ a god" b--used as a function word to indicate agreement or conformity "add salt ~ taste" "~ my knowledge" c--used as a function word to indicate a proportion in terms of numbers or quantities "400 ~ the box" "odds of ten ~ one"
7. a--used as a function word (1) to indicate the application of an adjective or a noun "agreeable ~ everyone" "attitude ~ friends" "title ~ the property" (2) to indicate the relation of a verb to its complement or to a complementary element "refers ~ the traditions" "refers us ~ the traditions" (3) to indicate the receiver of an action or the one for which something is done or exists "spoke ~ his mother" "gives a dollar ~ the man" and often used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusiveness (as of possession) or separateness "had the house ~ themselves" "thought ~ herself" b--used as a function word to indicate agency "falls ~ his opponent's blows" 8--used as a function word to indicate that the following verb is an infinitive "wants ~ 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 ~"
[2]to adv (bef. 12c) 1 a--used as a function word to indicate direction toward "feathers wrong end ~" "run ~ and fro" b: close to the wind "the gale having gone over, we came ~ --R. H. Dana"
2. a: into contact esp. with the frame--used of a door or a window "the door snapped ~" b--used as a function word to indicate physical application or attachment "he ... hath set ~ his seal --Jn 3:33 (AV)" 3--used as a function word to indicate application or attention "will stand ~ --Shak."
4: to a state of consciousness or awareness "brings her ~ with smelling salts"
5: at hand: by "get to see 'em close ~ --Richard Llewellyn"