Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell further

hear itfur·ther/'fɜrðər/adverbSchwa and roots

What it means: At or to a greater distance.

In a sentence: The dog ran further down the path to fetch the ball.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as futher or furthur.

Sounds like, but is not: farther. Same sound, different spelling and meaning.

Same family: far, farther, farthest, furthest, furthermore. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Further” comes from Old English “furþor,” a comparative form related to “fore,” meaning “before” or “in front.” Over time, English speakers started using “further” mostly for abstract distance (like ideas or time) and “farther” more for physical distance, though in everyday speech they often overlap.

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