See also: to-morrow and to morrow

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English tomorwe, tomorwen, from Old English tō morgne (tomorrow, adverb), from (at, on) + morgne (dative of morgen (morning)), from Proto-Germanic *murganaz (morning), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *mergʰ- (to blink, to twinkle), equivalent to to- +‎ morrow.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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tomorrow (not comparable)

  1. On the day after the present day.
    • 1711 [December?] (date written), Jonathan Swift, “An Excellent New Song. Being the Intended Speech of a Famous Orator against Peace [i.e., Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham].”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, [], new edition, volume VII, London: [] J[oseph] Johnson, [], published 1801, →OCLC, page 72:
      He has vamp'd an old speech, and the court to their sorrow, / Shall hear him harangue against Prior to morrow.
    • 1855, Charles Dickens, “The Holly-tree. Third Branch—The Bill”, in Christmas Stories [] (The Works of Charles Dickens; XV), de luxe edition, London: Chapman and Hall, published 1881, →OCLC, page 63:
      It was eight o'clock to-morrow evening when I buckled up my travelling writing-desk in its leather case, paid my Bill, and got on my warm coats and wrappers.
  2. At some point in the future; later on
    If you don’t get your life on track today, you’re going to be very sorry tomorrow.
  3. (possibly obsolete) On next (period of time other than a day, such as a week or a month), following the present (period of time).
    • 1664 March 28, debate in Great Britain's House of Commons, printed in 1803 in the Journals of the House of Commons, page 538:
      Resolved, &c. That the House be Called over again on Tomorrow Month, being the Six-and-twentieth Day of April next.
    • 1840, “Melancholy Death of Amelia V”, in The Christian Guardian (and Church of England magazine), page 60:
      'You shall go to it on to-morrow week, so make haste and get well!'
  4. (obsolete) On the next day (following some date in the past).
    • 1717 October 8, Robert Wodrow, in a letter to Mr. James Hart, printed in 1828, Robert Wodrow, The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland, page xxii:
      To prevent this, a committee for peace was proposed for to-morrow, who heard the ministers and Mr. Anderson upon the heads of the affair, but in vain; when their complaint was given in in Synod, and referred to the next Synod []
    • 1817, James Kirkton, The Secret and True History of the Church of Scotland, page 126:
      [] after he hade drunk liberally in the Advocate's house that same day, went to bed in health, but was taken up stark dead to-morrow morning; and such was the testimony of honour heaven was pleased to allow Montrose's pompuous funerals.

Usage notes

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Tomorrow does not necessarily refer to the next day as defined by a calendar, a clock’s time, but may refer to the remaining part of the current calendar day (and possibly also some part of the subsequent day) after sleeping and waking up again, especially if the speaker or recipient is about to go to sleep.

Antonyms

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Translations

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Noun

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tomorrow (countable and uncountable, plural tomorrows)

  1. (uncountable) The day after the present day.
    Tomorrow will be sunny.
    • 1891 January, Rudyard Kipling, chapter IV, in The Light that Failed, London, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., published March 1891, →OCLC, page 70:
      'Go home, Nilghai,' said Dick; 'go home to your lonely little bed, and leave me in peace. I am about to turn in till to-morrow.'
    • 1926, Dorothy Parker, “Godspeed”, in Enough Rope, page 69:
      Oh seek, my love, your newer way; / I'll not be left in sorrow. / So long as I have yesterday, / Go take your damned to-morrow!
  2. (uncountable, countable) A future period or time.
    • 1965, American Flint, volume 55, page 28:
      It’s 1965 and we certainly welcome this new year with hopes that all of our tomorrows will bring happiness.
    • 1978, Alan S. Berger, quoting “The doctor won’t be in today or tomorrow”, The City: Urban Communities and Their Problems, Dubuque, Ia.: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers, →ISBN, page 359:
      Surgoinsville, Tennessee, hasn’t had a doctor since 1965. That’s when the community’s only doctor died. Day after day, Surgoinsville’s modern medical clinic stands empty, useless. [] Surgoinsville’s clinic faces a lot of empty tomorrows.
    • 1991, Charles S[pittal] Robb, “The Age of Limits: Its Challenges and Opportunities”, in Robert D. Behn, editor, Governors on Governing, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 10:
      Additionally, programs such as our Televised Graduate Engineering Instruction effort, designed to allow engineers in the field to benefit from the latest research at our engineering schools, and the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, which will spur research in high-energy-particle physics, will help Virginia as well as the entire Southeast enter the brave new high-tech world of tomorrow.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Adverb

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tomorrow

  1. Alternative form of tomorwe

Noun

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tomorrow (uncountable)

  1. Alternative form of tomorwe