What does leftwards mean?
Leftwards is an adverb that indicates movement or orientation toward the left. It can describe the direction in which someone or something travels, the direction in which an object points, or the side on which a person or thing is situated. For example, a train moving leftwards and an arrow pointing leftwards use the word to make the direction explicit. The term is especially associated with British English, although it is also used in American English, where “leftward” is more common. Leftwards is standard rather than archaic and suits descriptive, technical, or literary prose, though a simpler phrase such as “to the left” may often sound more natural in everyday conversation. The word is particularly useful when direction matters, distinguishing a movement or orientation from an action performed with the left hand. Together with rightwards, upwards, downwards, and backwards, it illustrates how English can attach a directional idea directly to a point of reference.
adverbIn the direction of or toward the left side.
- Toward or in the direction of the left side.
"The aircraft banked leftwards as it approached the runway."
"The runner moved leftwards to avoid the approaching dog."
"The sign points leftwards toward the main entrance."
Like many directional adverbs, leftwards hides its journey in its ending: -wards means “in the direction of,” so the word literally means “in the direction of the left.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of leftwards
Leftwards combines the word “left” with the directional suffix “-wards,” which derives from Old English “-weardes,” meaning “in the direction of.” The suffix is productive in English and also appears in forms such as rightwards, upwards, downwards, and backwards. The underlying history of “left” is less certain, so its more distant origins should not be stated too precisely.
Related word forms
How leftwards is actually used
Standard, non-pejorative, and suitable for descriptive, technical, and literary prose.
Easily confused with leftwards
Leftward is the more common American spelling and variant of the same directional adverb; where both forms are listed, they do not have separate meanings.