Meaning & use
hither
Last updated
Meaning
adverb
To or toward this place; here.
Grammar: Now mostly used in the fixed phrase 'hither and thither' or in deliberately old-fashioned writing.
Patterns
- hither and thither
- come hither
- hither to
The children ran hither and thither in the garden.
She gave him a come-hither look.
In older poetry, lovers often call each other hither.
Common combinations
- hither and thither
- Papers were scattered hither and thither across the desk.
- come hither
- He beckoned her to come hither.
- hither and yon
- They traveled hither and yon in search of adventure.
Synonyms and how they differ
- here
- Here is the modern everyday word for this place; hither is archaic and mostly limited to set phrases.
Opposites
Word family
- hitherto adverb
- Until now; up to this time.
- hithermost adjective
- Nearest to this place (rare).
Commonly confused: hither or thither?
hither vs thither
Thither means 'to that place' (away from the speaker), while hither means 'to this place' (toward the speaker).
Practice
Which sentence uses hither correctly?
Choose one answer.
Hither means 'to this place' and survives mainly in the phrase 'hither and thither'. It is not a verb (so 'hithers' and 'hither the project' are wrong) and is not used with a simple past time like 'yesterday' in modern English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hither”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.