·prep Addition; union; accumulation.

II. To ·prep Character; condition of being; purpose subserved or office filled.

III. To ·prep Apposition; connection; antithesis; opposition; as, they engaged hand to hand.

IV. To ·prep Accompaniment; as, she sang to his guitar; they danced to the music of a piano.

V. To ·prep Accord; adaptation; as, an occupation to his taste; she has a husband to her mind.

VI. To ·prep Comparison; as, three is to nine as nine is to twenty-seven; it is ten to one that you will offend him.

VII. To ·prep Extent; limit; degree of comprehension; inclusion as far as; as, they met us to the number of three hundred.

VIII. To ·prep In many phrases, and in connection with many other words, to has a pregnant meaning, or is used elliptically.

IX. To ·prep Effect; end; consequence; as, the prince was flattered to his ruin; he engaged in a war to his cost; violent factions exist to the prejudice of the state.

X. To ·prep The preposition to primarily indicates approach and arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing and attaining it, access; and also, motion or tendency without arrival; movement toward;

XI. To ·prep Hence, it indicates motion, course, or tendency toward a time, a state or condition, an aim, or anything capable of being regarded as a limit to a tendency, movement, or action; as, he is going to a trade; he is rising to wealth and honor.

XII. To ·prep In a very general way, and with innumerable varieties of application, to connects transitive verbs with their remoter or indirect object, and adjectives, nouns, and neuter or passive verbs with a following noun which limits their action. Its sphere verges upon that of for, but it contains less the idea of design or appropriation; as, these remarks were addressed to a large audience; let us keep this seat to ourselves; a substance sweet to the taste; an event painful to the mind; duty to God and to our parents; a dislike to spirituous liquor.

XIII. To ·prep As sign of the infinitive, to had originally the use of last defined, governing the infinitive as a verbal noun, and connecting it as indirect object with a preceding verb or adjective; thus, ready to go, i.e., ready unto going; good to eat, i.e., good for eating; I do my utmost to lead my life pleasantly. But it has come to be the almost constant prefix to the infinitive, even in situations where it has no prepositional meaning, as where the infinitive is direct object or subject; thus, I love to learn, i.e., I love learning; to die for one's country is noble, i.e., the dying for one's country. Where the infinitive denotes the design or purpose, good usage formerly allowed the prefixing of for to the to; as, what went ye out for see. (Matt. xi. 8).

I. PREPOSITION AND ADVERB USES

1.

You use to when indicating the place that someone or something visits, moves towards, or points at.

2.

If you go to an event, you go where it is taking place.

3.

If something is attached to something larger or fixed to it, the two things are joined together.

4.

You use to when indicating the position of something. For example, if something is to your left, it is nearer your left side than your right side.

5.

When you give something to someone, they receive it.

6.

You use to to indicate who or what an action or a feeling is directed towards.

7.

You use to with certain nouns and adjectives to show that a following noun is related to them.

8.

If you say something to someone, you want that person to listen and understand what you are saying.

9.

You use to when indicating someone's reaction to something or their feelings about a situation or event. For example, if you say that something happens to someone's surprise you mean that they are surprised when it happens.

10.

You use to when indicating the person whose opinion you are stating.

11.

You use to when indicating what something or someone is becoming, or the state or situation that they are progressing towards.

12.

To can be used as a way of introducing the person or organization you are employed by, when you perform some service for them.

13.

You use to to indicate that something happens until the time or amount mentioned is reached.

14.

You use to when indicating the last thing in a range of things, usually when you are giving two extreme examples of something.

15.

If someone goes from place to place or from job to job, they go to several places, or work in several jobs, and spend only a short time in each one.

16.

If someone moves to and fro, they move repeatedly from one place to another and back again, or from side to side.

17.

You use to when you are stating a time which is less than thirty minutes before an hour. For example, if it is 'five to eight', it is five minutes before eight o'clock.

18.

You use to when giving ratios and rates.

19.

You use to when indicating that two things happen at the same time. For example, if something is done to music, it is done at the same time as music is being played.

20.

If you say 'There's nothing to it', 'There's not much to it', or 'That's all there is to it', you are emphasizing how simple you think something is.

CONVENTION [emphasis]

21.

If you push or shut a door to, you close it but may not shut it completely.

22.

see also according to

II. USED BEFORE THE BASE FORM OF A VERB

1.

You use to before the base form of a verb to form the to-infinitive. You use the to-infinitive after certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives, and after words such as 'how', 'which', and 'where'.

2.

You use to before the base form of a verb to indicate the purpose or intention of an action.

= in order to

in order to: see order

3.

You use to before the base form of a verb when you are commenting on a statement that you are making, for example when saying that you are being honest or brief, or that you are summing up or giving an example.

4.

You use to before the base form of a verb when indicating what situation follows a particular action.

5.

You use to with 'too' and 'enough' in expressions like too much to and old enough to; see too
and enough
.

¦ preposition

1. expressing direction or position in relation to a location, point, or condition.

chiefly Brit. (in telling the time) before (the hour specified).

2. identifying the person or thing affected.

3. identifying a relationship between one person or thing and another.

indicating a rate of return: ten miles to the gallon.

4. indicating that two things are attached.

5. governing a phrase expressing someone's reaction: to her astonishment, he smiled.

6. used to introduce the second element in a comparison.

7. placed before a debit entry in accounting.

¦ infinitive marker

1. used with the base form of a verb to indicate that the verb is in the infinitive.

(about to) forming a future tense with reference to the immediate future.

2. used without a verb following when the missing verb is clearly understood: she said she didn't want to.

¦ adverb so as to be closed or nearly closed.

OE to (adverb and preposition), of W. Gmc origin.