today
adverbnounadjectivetop 1 000 in film dialogue
- United Kingdom//tʊˈdeɪ//
- United Kingdom//təˈdeɪ//
- United States//təˈdeɪ//
- United States/[tʰəˈɾeɪ]/
On the current day or date.
adverb
- 1
On the current day or date.
I want this done today.
Today, my brother went to the shops.
- 2
In the current era; nowadays; these days.
In the 1500s, people had to do things by hand, but today we have electric can openers.
- 3
informalOn the day of a recurring cycle or event which is currently happening.
We used to prepare everything today, but now we split it over two days.
Etymology
From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”, literally “[this] day forward”), German Low German vandage, vandaag (“today”), Swedish i dag, idag (“today”).
noun
- 1
The current day or date.
Today is the day we'll fix this once and for all.
We could've spent today at the seaside if it weren't gusty.
Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …
- 2
informalThe 24-hour period beginning at 5 or 6 a.m. or sunrise of the current day.
- 3
The present era; nowadays.
This is the sporty jacket for today's modern man on the go.
The youth of today have never known what life is like without a cell phone.
adjective
- 1
informalCurrent; up to date.
Actually, it's more like the blues. It's pop blues. I feel it's very American. It's very today. It's what people respond to today.
[…] she (Françoise Hardy) is so today, so white boots and yé-yé, that she can make anyone over 25 (me) feel prehistoric, raccoon coat and rah-rah.
Forms
- plural
- todays