To vs. At: Know the Difference

By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 29, 2023

'To' indicates direction, movement, or purpose, often used for destinations or objectives. 'At' specifies a location or point in time, used to denote a specific place or moment.

To vs. At

Key Differences

To is primarily a preposition of movement or direction, suggesting a journey toward a specific destination. At, in contrast, is used to denote a specific location or place where something occurs.

Dec 29, 2023

In usage, to often precedes a verb, forming an infinitive that expresses purpose, intention, or desire. At, however, is commonly used to pinpoint a precise time, indicating when an event takes place.

Dec 29, 2023

To can indicate a range or extent, as in expressing a measure or degree. At is more static, often used to refer to activities that occur in a particular spot.

Dec 29, 2023

When expressing relationships or responses, to can be used to show a reaction or a feeling towards someone or something. At is more specific to locations, being used to specify the exact spot where an event or action is focused.

Dec 29, 2023

In idiomatic expressions, to is often part of phrasal verbs or idioms, contributing to the meaning of the phrase. At is used in idioms to emphasize the location or time of an action or event.

Dec 29, 2023

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Comparison Chart

Primary Use

Indicates direction or movement towards a destination.

Specifies a location or point in time.

Dec 29, 2023

Role in Sentences

Precedes verbs to form infinitives or express purpose.

Used to pinpoint a precise time or location.

Dec 29, 2023

Indication

Can indicate range, extent, or relationship.

More static, focusing on specific spots or moments.

Dec 29, 2023

Usage in Phrases

Part of phrasal verbs or idioms, altering their meanings.

Used in idioms to emphasize location or time of actions.

Dec 29, 2023

Function

Suggests a journey, objective, or direction.

Denotes the exact spot or time where something happens.

Dec 29, 2023

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To and At Definitions

To

Indicating movement towards a place.

We're going to the park.

Dec 29, 2023

At

Indicating a point in time.

I'll be ready at 5 o'clock.

Dec 29, 2023

To

Used before a verb to form an infinitive.

I love to read.

Dec 29, 2023

At

Used to indicate an activity.

She's good at painting.

Dec 29, 2023

To

In a direction toward so as to reach

Went to the city.

Oct 19, 2023

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At

Indicating a target or direction.

She laughed at the joke.

Dec 29, 2023

To

Towards

Turned to me.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In or near the area occupied by; in or near the location of

At the market.

At our destination.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Reaching as far as

The ocean water was clear all the way to the bottom.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In or near the position of

Always at my side.

At the center of the page.

Oct 19, 2023

To

To the extent or degree of

Loved him to distraction.

Oct 19, 2023

At

To or toward the direction or location of, especially for a specific purpose

Questions came at us from all sides.

Oct 19, 2023

To

With the resultant condition of

Nursed her back to health.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Present during; attending

At the dance.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Toward a given state

Helping minority women to economic equality.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Within the interval or span of

At the dinner hour.

At a glance.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In contact with; against

Their faces pressed to the windows.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In the state or condition of

At peace with one's conscience.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In front of

Stood face to face.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In the activity or field of

Skilled at playing chess.

Good at math.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to indicate appropriation or possession

Looked for the top to the jar.

Oct 19, 2023

At

To or using the rate, extent, or amount of; to the point of

At 30 cents a pound.

At high speed.

At 20 paces.

At 350°F.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Concerning; regarding

Waiting for an answer to my letter.

Oct 19, 2023

At

On, near, or by the time or age of

At three o'clock.

At 72 years of age.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In a particular relationship with

The brook runs parallel to the road.

Oct 19, 2023

At

On account of; because of

Rejoice at a victory.

Oct 19, 2023

To

As an accompaniment or a complement of

Danced to the tune.

Oct 19, 2023

At

By way of; through

Exited at the rear gate.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Composing; constituting

Two cups to a pint.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In accord with; following

At my request.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In accord with

Job responsibilities suited to her abilities.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Dependent upon

At the mercy of the court.

Oct 19, 2023

To

As compared with

A book superior to his others.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Occupied with

At work.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Before

The time is ten to five.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In, near, or in the general vicinity of a particular place.

Caesar was at Rome

At the corner of Fourth Street and Vine

At Jim’s house

Oct 19, 2023

To

Up till; until

Worked from nine to five.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Indicating occurrence in an instant of time or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker's perspective.

At six o’clock

At closing time

At night

Oct 19, 2023

To

For the purpose of

Went out to lunch.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In the direction of (often in an unfocused or uncaring manner).

He threw the ball at me.

He shouted at her.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In honor of

A toast to the queen.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Denotes a price.

3 apples at 2¢ (each)

The offer was at $30,000 before negotiations.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used before a verb to indicate the infinitive

I'd like to go.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Occupied in (activity).

Men at work

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used alone when the infinitive is understood

Go if you want to.

Oct 19, 2023

At

In a state of.

She is at sixes and sevens with him.

They are at loggerheads over how best to tackle the fiscal cliff.

The city was at the mercy of the occupying forces.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to indicate the relationship of a verb with its complement

Refer to a dictionary.

Refer me to a dictionary.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Indicates a position on a scale or in a series.

Sell at 90.

Tiger finished the round at tenth, seven strokes behind the leaders.

I'm offering it—just to select customers—at cost.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusivity or separateness

Had the plane to ourselves.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Because of.

To laugh at a joke

Mad at their comments

Oct 19, 2023

To

In one direction; toward a person or thing

Owls with feathers wrong end to.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Indicates a means, method, or manner.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Into a shut or closed position

Pushed the door to.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Holding a given speed or rate.

It is growing at the rate of 3% a year.

Cruising along at fifty miles per hour.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Into a state of consciousness

The patient came to.

Oct 19, 2023

At

(used for skills (including in activities) or areas of knowledge) On the subject of; regarding.

The twins were both bad at chemistry.

He slipped at marksmanship over his extended vacation.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Into a state of action or attentiveness

Sat down for lunch and fell to.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to

Oct 19, 2023

To

(Nautical) Into the wind.

Oct 19, 2023

At

On a particular date.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Indicating destination: In the direction of, so as to arrive at.

We are walking to the shop.

Oct 19, 2023

At

The at sign (@).

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to indicate the target or recipient of an action.

I gave the book to him.

I spoke to him earlier.

He devoted himself to education.

They drank to his health.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Rare form of @

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to indicate result of action.

His face was beaten to a pulp.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence, nearness in place or time, or direction toward; as, at the ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less definite than in or on; at the house may be in or near the house. From this original import are derived all the various uses of at.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to indicate a resulting feeling or emotion.

To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.

Oct 19, 2023

At

A relation of proximity to, or of presence in or on, something; as, at the door; at your shop; at home; at school; at hand; at sea and on land.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used after an adjective to indicate its application.

Similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking.

Oct 19, 2023

At

The relation of some state or condition; as, at war; at peace; at ease; at your service; at fault; at liberty; at risk; at disadvantage.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Denotes the end of a range.

It takes 2 to 4 weeks to process typical applications.

Oct 19, 2023

At

The relation of some employment or action; occupied with; as, at engraving; at husbandry; at play; at work; at meat (eating); except at puns.

Oct 19, 2023

To

As a.

With God to friend (with God as a friend);

With The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe);

Lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice);

Took her to wife (took her as a wife);

Was sold to slave (was sold as a slave).

Oct 19, 2023

At

The relation of a point or position in a series, or of degree, rate, or value; as, with the thermometer at 80°; goods sold at a cheap price; a country estimated at 10,000 square miles; life is short at the longest.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to indicate a ratio or comparison; compared to, as against.

One to one = 1:1

Ten to one = 10:1.

I have ten dollars to your four.

Oct 19, 2023

At

The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock; at twenty-one; at once; at first.

Oct 19, 2023

To

(arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation.

Three squared or three to the second power is nine.

Three to the power of two is nine.

Three to the second is nine.

Oct 19, 2023

At

The relations of source, occasion, reason, consequence, or effect; as, at the sight; at this news; merry at anything; at this declaration; at his command; to demand, require, receive, deserve, endure at your hands.

Oct 19, 2023

To

(time) Preceding the next hour.

What's the time? – It's quarter to four in the afternoon (or 3:45 pm).

Oct 19, 2023

At

Relation of direction toward an object or end; as, look at it; to point at one; to aim at a mark; to throw, strike, shoot, wink, mock, laugh at any one.

Oct 19, 2023

To

(informal) Often used without the hour

It’s quarter to (3:45, or 4:45, or whatever time ending in 45 would make the most sense)

Oct 19, 2023

At

A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series); a decay product of uranium and thorium

Oct 19, 2023

To

Used to describe what something consists of or contains.

Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it.

There's a lot of sense to what he says.

The name has a nice ring to it.

Oct 19, 2023

At

100 at equal 1 kip

Oct 19, 2023

To

According to

Our holiday did not go to plan.

Oct 19, 2023

At

Denoting a specific location or place.

Meet me at the library.

Dec 29, 2023

To

At.

Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.

Where are you to?

Oct 19, 2023

At

Referring to a state or condition.

He was at peace.

Dec 29, 2023

To

(regionalism) Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.

Please push the door to.

Oct 19, 2023

To

(nautical) Into the wind.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Misspelling of too

Oct 19, 2023

To

The preposition to primarily indicates approach and arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing and attaining it, access; and also, motion or tendency without arrival; movement toward; - opposed to from.

Stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.

So to the sylvan lodgeThey came, that like Pomona's arbor smiled.

I'll to him again, . . . He'll tell me all his purpose.She stretched her arms to heaven.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Hence, it indicates motion, course, or tendency toward a time, a state or condition, an aim, or anything capable of being regarded as a limit to a tendency, movement, or action; as, he is going to a trade; he is rising to wealth and honor.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In a very general way, and with innumerable varieties of application, to connects transitive verbs with their remoter or indirect object, and adjectives, nouns, and neuter or passive verbs with a following noun which limits their action. Its sphere verges upon that of for, but it contains less the idea of design or appropriation; as, these remarks were addressed to a large audience; let us keep this seat to ourselves; a substance sweet to the taste; an event painful to the mind; duty to God and to our parents; a dislike to spirituous liquor.

Marks and points out each man of us to slaughter.

Whilst they, distilledAlmost to jelly with the act of fear,Stand dumb and speak not to him.

Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

I have a king's oath to the contrary.

Numbers were crowded to death.

Fate and the dooming gods are deaf to tears.

Go, buckle to the law.

Oct 19, 2023

To

As sign of the infinitive, to had originally the use of last defined, governing the infinitive as a verbal noun, and connecting it as indirect object with a preceding verb or adjective; thus, ready to go, i.e., ready unto going; good to eat, i.e., good for eating; I do my utmost to lead my life pleasantly. But it has come to be the almost constant prefix to the infinitive, even in situations where it has no prepositional meaning, as where the infinitive is direct object or subject; thus, I love to learn, i.e., I love learning; to die for one's country is noble, i.e., the dying for one's country. Where the infinitive denotes the design or purpose, good usage formerly allowed the prefixing of for to the to; as, what went ye out for see? (Matt. xi. 8).

Then longen folk to go on pilgrimages,And palmers for to seeken strange stranders.

Oct 19, 2023

To

In many phrases, and in connection with many other words, to has a pregnant meaning, or is used elliptically.

We ready are to try our fortunesTo the last man.

Few of the Esquimaux can count to ten.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Effect; end; consequence; as, the prince was flattered to his ruin; he engaged in a war to his cost; violent factions exist to the prejudice of the state.

Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Accord; adaptation; as, an occupation to his taste; she has a husband to her mind.

He to God's image, she to his was made.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Comparison; as, three is to nine as nine is to twenty-seven; it is ten to one that you will offend him.

All that they did was piety to this.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Addition; union; accumulation.

Wisdom he has, and to his wisdom, courage.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Accompaniment; as, she sang to his guitar; they danced to the music of a piano.

Anon they moveIn perfect phalanx to the Dorian moodOf flutes and soft recorders.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Character; condition of being; purpose subserved or office filled.

Made his masters and others . . . to consider him to a little wonder.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow;Creeps in this petty pace from day to day.

There was great showing both to and fro.

Oct 19, 2023

To

Indicating a relationship between things or people.

She is married to my cousin.

Dec 29, 2023

To

Expressing a range or limit.

The temperature dropped to zero.

Dec 29, 2023

To

Indicating a recipient.

I gave the book to her.

Dec 29, 2023

Repeatedly Asked Queries

Can 'at' indicate a general vicinity?

'At' is more for specific locations, not general areas.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'to' used with infinitives?

Yes, 'to' precedes the base form of a verb to form infinitives.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'at' used in email addresses?

Yes, 'at' (@) is used in email and social media handles.

Dec 29, 2023

Does 'to' imply motion?

Yes, 'to' often suggests movement towards something.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'to' used in comparisons?

'To' can be used to compare, as in "up to" a certain point.

Dec 29, 2023

Can 'to' be used for time?

Rarely. 'To' is mainly used for direction, not time.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'at' used for long distances?

No, 'at' specifies a point, not a distance.

Dec 29, 2023

Can 'at' be used for activities?

Yes, 'at' often indicates proficiency in an activity.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'to' used in informal language?

Yes, 'to' is common in both informal and formal contexts.

Dec 29, 2023

Can 'to' function as part of a verb?

Yes, 'to' is essential in forming infinitive verb phrases.

Dec 29, 2023

Does 'at' work with specific times?

Yes, 'at' is perfect for specifying times.

Dec 29, 2023

Can 'to' show a recipient?

Yes, 'to' indicates who is receiving something.

Dec 29, 2023

Does 'to' indicate a direction in phrases?

Yes, 'to' can indicate direction in phrasal verbs.

Dec 29, 2023

Does 'at' have multiple meanings?

Yes, 'at' can indicate place, time, activity, or state.

Dec 29, 2023

Can 'to' express purpose?

Yes, 'to' often indicates the purpose of an action.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'at' used in idiomatic expressions?

Yes, 'at' appears in various idioms, focusing on location or time.

Dec 29, 2023

How is 'to' used in formal writing?

'To' is used in formal writing for direction, purpose, and infinitives.

Dec 29, 2023

Does 'at' work with specific points?

Yes, 'at' is ideal for specifying exact points or moments.

Dec 29, 2023

Can 'at' denote a state or condition?

Yes, 'at' can refer to a particular state or condition.

Dec 29, 2023

Is 'at' used in digital communication?

Yes, especially in email addresses and social media.

Dec 29, 2023

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About Author

Written by

Shumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.

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