/tə'wɔ:dz; [US] tɔ:rdz; tɔrdz/ (also toward/ tE5wR:d; US tR:rd; tRrd/) prep
1 in the direction of (sb/sth) 向, 朝, 对着（某人[某事物]）的方向
*walk towards the river 朝着河走去
* look out towards the sea 向外面的大海看
* The child came running towards me. 那孩子向我跑来.
* She turned her back towards the sun. 她转过身背对着太阳.
2 moving closer to achieving (sth) 趋于达成（某事）
*The meeting is seen as the first step towards greater unity between the parties. 这一会议可视为两党走向进一步联合的第一步.
* We have made some progress towards reaching an agreement. 我们在达成协议方面已取得些进展.
3 in relation to (sb/sth) 对于或关于（某人[某事]）
*The local people are always very friendly towardstourists. 当地人对游客一向十分热情.
* He behaved very affectionately towards her children. 他非常疼爱她的孩子.
* As you get older your attitude towards death changes. 人随着年龄的增长, 对死亡的看法也会有所改变.
4 with the aim of acquiring or contributing to (sth) 为得到或用于（某物）
*The money will go towards (the cost of) building a new school. 此款项将用于建设新学校（的开销）. *
30 a month goes towards a pension fund. 每月交30英镑用作退职基金.
5 near (a point in time) 接近（某一时间）
*Food shortages will probably get worse towards the end of the century. 食物短缺的情况到本世纪末可能更加严重.
* Now he's getting towards retirement age he's started playing golf. 他因接近退休年龄, 就打起高尔夫球来了.

prep especially BrEto·ward [tə'wɔːd (US) tɔːrd, twɔːrd/