Further vs farther: the difference, with examples and a quiz

Farther usually describes physical distance and further covers degree, extent and “more”: We walked two miles farther than we planned, then discussed the route further over dinner. Only further can mean “additional” (further details, until further notice), “in addition” (Further, the lease forbids pets) or “to advance” (to further a career). The memory trick: farther has far inside it, so save it for distance you could measure.

That split is a usage tendency, strongest in American English, not a strict rule. Further is standard for physical distance too: we walked two miles further is correct, and British English uses further for distance more often than farther. So when you can't decide, write further: it works for distance, and farther can't do further's other jobs. Merriam-Webster now marks farther as dated when it means to a greater degree, so we need to look into this farther sounds old-fashioned at best.

Further vs farther at a glance

Farther: distance you can measure

Use farther when the sentence is about space: how far someone walks, drives, throws or sees, or how far apart two places are. If a map, a tape measure or an odometer could settle the question, farther fits in any variety of English.

• How much farther is the trailhead?
• The farther north you drive, the earlier the snow.
• Her new office is farther from the station.
• He can throw a football farther than his coach can.
• The farther bank of the creek belongs to the county.

Further can replace farther in every one of those sentences without being wrong. Merriam-Webster treats the two as interchangeable whenever they describe a longer distance, and in British English further is the more common word for it. What farther can't do is leave the map.

When the distance is a metaphor, both words turn up in print. Idioms such as nothing could be further from the truth appear with either, because the dictionaries count figurative distance as shared ground. If the distance isn't one you could measure, though, further is the safer choice.

Further: degree, more and moreover

Further shares physical distance with farther. The first four jobs below belong to further alone; the fifth it shares as well.

• To a greater degree or extent (adverb): I can't cut the chapter any further. The talks went no further. Before we go further, let's agree on the budget.
• More or additional (adjective): further details, further reading, a further delay, until further notice, without further ado.
• In addition, moreover (sentence adverb): Further, the contract requires 30 days' notice. The one-word form is furthermore; farthermore isn't standard English.
• To advance or promote (verb): The grant will further her research. He used the committee to further his own interests. The forms are furthers, furthered and furthering, and the noun is furtherance, as in the formal phrase in furtherance of. Merriam-Webster notes that farther never had this meaning.
• Distance in time: The parish records go further back than the census. Plan further ahead next year. Farther isn't wrong here, since dictionaries treat distance in time as shared ground.

As an opener, Further, or Furthermore, adds a point to an argument in a report or an essay. Either one wears out fast. The sentence starters guide has alternatives for adding a point, contrasting and concluding.

Farthest or furthest?

The superlatives follow the same pattern, since farther and further are both comparatives of far and farthest and furthest are both its superlatives. For measurable distance, use either: the farthest (or furthest) seat from the stage. For degree or extent, use furthest: the furthest the negotiations have ever gone. Furthest is never wrong, while farthest is best kept for distance you can measure.

British and American usage

The Oxford Learner's Dictionaries put the regional difference plainly. For distance, British English mostly uses further and furthest, and North American English mostly uses farther and farthest. For degree or extent, further is usually preferred on both sides of the Atlantic, and only further can mean “more” or “additional” anywhere.

So the familiar rule, farther for space and further for everything else, describes American habit more than grammar. A British novelist who writes she walked further down the lane hasn't made a mistake. The choice is a style guide question, like judgement or judgment: for an American publication, keep farther for distance; in British English, further throughout is normal.

Where the two words come from

Farther looks like far with an ending added, but Merriam-Webster says the resemblance misleads. Further is the original word and goes back to Old English; farther appeared in the 14th century as Middle English ferther, an alteration of further, and the far in its spelling is unrelated. For most of their history the pair overlapped, and the tidy split between distance and degree is a modern habit, which is why older books break it all the time.

Further and farther in classic texts

Older texts show both the modern pattern and the looser one before it.

The translators used farther for the short distance Jesus walks away from his disciples, and further when the high priest asks what more need there is of witnesses. An American editor today would make the same two choices.

The limit here is a shoreline, as physical as distance gets, and the same translators chose further. Modern American habit would lean toward farther, a reminder that the split is younger than the words.

The distance in the Mock Turtle's song is the sea between England and France. Carroll, writing British English, uses further, and a British editor would leave it alone today.

Examples in sentences

Farther, for physical distance:

1. The cabin is two miles farther up the logging road.
2. Each spring the river cuts a little farther into the bank.
3. She parked farther from the entrance to get her steps in.
4. The farther you sit from the stage, the less the masks matter.
5. Nobody on the team could kick a ball farther than Ines.
6. From the ridge you can see farther than the county line.

Further, for degree or extent:

7. We can't discount the books any further.
8. Read the contract further before you sign it.
9. The editor wants the second act tightened further.
10. If the leak gets worse, we'll investigate further.

Further, meaning more or additional:

11. Further details will follow in Friday's newsletter.
12. The library is closed until further notice.
13. Without further ado, here is our keynote speaker.
14. A further delay would push the launch into January.
15. The report ends with suggestions for further reading.

Further, meaning in addition, and the verb:

16. Further, the tenant may not sublet the apartment.
17. The plan is expensive. Furthermore, it misses the deadline.
18. She took the job to further her career in publishing.
19. The donation furthered the clinic's work in three counties.

Distance in time, and sentences where either works:

20. The family's letters go further back than the town records.
21. Plan further ahead for the holiday issue.
22. We drove farther (or further) than the map suggested.
23. The furthest (or farthest) table from the kitchen is the quietest.
24. The farther we hiked, the further the conversation drifted from work.
25. Before we walk any farther, let's discuss the route further.

Mistakes to look for

• Please send farther details. → Please send further details.
• We need to look into this farther. → We need to look into this further.
• The award will farther her career. → The award will further her career.
• Farthermore, the deadline has passed. → Furthermore, the deadline has passed.
• Closed until farther notice. → Closed until further notice.
• Without farther ado → Without further ado

The opposite slip, further for physical distance, isn't a mistake at all. Change it only if your publication's style asks for farther, and leave it alone inside quotations and titles.

Quick quiz: further or farther?

Fill each gap with the word an American editor would expect, then check the answers. Some gaps take either word.

1. The hotel is a mile ____ down the beach.
2. I have no ____ questions.
3. ____, the survey found no link between price and loyalty.
4. The whales traveled ____ south than anyone expected.
5. The committee will study the proposal ____ next month.
6. She used her column to ____ the cause of public libraries.
7. The talks broke down and went no ____.
8. Which planet is ____ from the sun, Mars or Jupiter?
9. Our records don't go any ____ back than 1952.
10. The museum is closed until ____ notice.

Keep one rule across a draft

In a long manuscript the two words drift: farther for a walk in chapter 3, further for the same walk in chapter 11, and a paragraph pasted from an older draft that follows neither pattern. Decide the rule before you check. For American English that is farther for measurable distance and further for the rest; for British English, further throughout is normal. Write the decision on your style sheet.

In Strokes, you can then ask the Strokes Assistant to list every further and farther in a chapter that breaks the rule on your style sheet, with the sentence each one appears in.

Other pairs that split by meaning are led and lead and principal and principle.