Forth means forward in space or time, moving onward from a starting point. When a ship sets forth on a voyage, it leaves the harbor and heads out to sea. When spring brings forth new flowers, they emerge and begin to grow.

You'll often see forth paired with other words to show movement or emergence. To venture forth means to go forward boldly into something new or uncertain. When someone puts forth an idea, they're bringing it out into the open for others to consider. When a leader calls forth courage in difficult times, they're summoning it to come forward.

The word appears in many familiar phrases: back and forth describes repeated movement in opposite directions, like pacing or a conversation where people take turns. And so forth means “and continuing in the same way,” similar to et cetera. When something happens from that day forth, it continues forward from that moment onward.

Forth has an old-fashioned feel, more common in literature and formal speech than everyday conversation. You're more likely to hear someone say “let's go forward” than “let's go forth,” though forth adds a sense of purpose and adventure to the journey.