“forth” vs. “fourth”

Use "forth" for forward movement or emergence ("back and forth," "set forth"), and "fourth" for the ordinal number after third ("fourth place," "the Fourth of July").

The real distinction

These two words are unrelated in origin despite looking like near-anagrams of each other, and the confusion is purely visual — a transposed "u" and "r" turn a directional adverb into a number. "Forth" never counts anything; it describes movement or emergence, as in "step forth" or "from this day forth." "Fourth" always counts position; it never means "onward." A dependable check is to see whether the sentence involves a number or ranking — birthdays, dates, places in a race, positions in a list — in which case you need "fourth"; if the sentence is about moving, continuing, or appearing, you need "forth." The phrase "back and forth" is a useful anchor, since no number could ever substitute there, while "the Fourth of July" is a useful anchor for the number, since no motion-word could substitute there either. The word "forth" also survives in a number of slightly archaic but still common constructions, such as "forthcoming" (about to appear or be released) and "forthwith" (immediately), both of which retain the same forward-moving sense without any hint of counting. "Fourth" likewise appears in fixed phrases tied strictly to rank or sequence, such as "fourth estate" (the press) or "fourth wall" (the imaginary barrier between performers and audience), both of which depend entirely on the numerical, ordinal meaning and could never be replaced by the adverb "forth." Legal and constitutional writing frequently references specific numbered amendments or articles, such as "the Fourth Amendment," where only the ordinal number could ever apply, since no legal document could logically have a "Forth Amendment."

Examples with “forth”

• She paced back and forth while waiting for the call.
• The knight rode forth to meet the approaching army.
• The new policy set forth clear guidelines for staff.
• From that day forth, he kept a daily journal.
• The committee brought forth several new proposals.
• He stepped forth to accept the award.
• The report is forthcoming within the next few days.
• She was ordered to leave the premises forthwith.
• The army marched forth at first light.
• She set forth her objections in a lengthy memo.
• The team put forth a bold new strategy.
• He called forth every ounce of courage he had.
• He urged the volunteers to venture forth despite the rain.
• The proposal put forth new safety standards for the plant.
• The council sent forth an official statement by evening.

Examples with “fourth”

• She finished fourth in the marathon.
• Our team celebrates the Fourth of July every year.
• This is his fourth attempt at the exam.
• The fourth chapter covers verb tenses in detail.
• They live on the fourth floor of the building.
• It's her fourth time visiting Japan.
• Breaking the fourth wall surprised the entire audience.
• The newspaper proudly upheld its role as the fourth estate.
• The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches.
• He placed fourth in the regional spelling bee.
• She was born on the fourth of March.
• The fourth quarter proved decisive for the company's earnings.
• The team advanced to the fourth round of the playoffs.
• This marks the fourth revision of the manuscript.

Memory trick

"Fourth" contains the number "four" spelled out inside it — if you can see "four" hiding in the word, you're counting. "Forth" has no number hiding inside it at all, just pure forward motion.