At vs. To — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on October 25, 2023
"'At' indicates a specific location or point in time, while 'To' denotes direction or intention."
Difference Between At and To
Table of Contents
ADVERTISEMENT
Key Differences
At and To are both prepositions in English, commonly used to indicate location and direction respectively. When you're at a place, you're specifically there; it denotes exactness. Conversely, to suggests movement or direction towards a location, goal, or recipient.
If someone is at the mall, they are currently there, pinpointing a particular location. However, if they are going to the mall, it conveys the action of moving or heading towards that destination.
In terms of time, at is also precise. If a meeting is at 3 pm, it starts exactly then. To, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same temporal precision but can be used to express a range, like a countdown from ten to one.
At can also indicate a method or manner when paired with certain verbs, as in "laughing at a joke." In contrast, to is used to indicate a relationship or connection, such as "giving a gift to a friend."
Fundamentally, while both at and to are prepositions, their applications differ. At emphasizes a specific location or exact time, while to leans more towards direction, purpose, or relationship.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comparison Chart
Primary Use
Specific location or point in time.
Direction, intention, or end point.
Indication
Preciseness.
Movement or relation.
Temporal Use
Exact time (e.g., at 3 pm).
Range or sequence (e.g., from ten to one).
Relationship
Denotes method or manner with certain verbs.
Indicates connection, purpose, or recipient.
Examples
"She's at the park."
"She's going to the park."
Compare with Definitions
At
Showing the target of an action.
The cat hissed at the dog.
To
Denoting a range or limit.
The score ranged from zero to ten.
At
Expressing location or arrival in a particular place or position
They live at Conway House
They stopped at a small trattoria
To
Indicating purpose or intention.
He went to buy groceries.
At
Expressing the time when an event takes place
The children go to bed at nine o'clock
His death came at a time when the movement was split
To
Expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location)
We're going to a party
Walking down to the shops
My first visit to Africa
At
Denoting a particular point or level on a scale
Driving at 50 mph
Prices start at £18,500
To
Approaching or reaching (a particular condition)
Christopher's expression changed from amazement to joy
She was close to tears
At
Expressing a particular state or condition
His ready smile put her at ease
They were at a disadvantage
To
Identifying the person or thing affected by or receiving something
You were terribly unkind to her
They donated £400 to the hospice
I am deeply grateful to my parents
At
Expressing the object of a look, thought, action, or plan
I looked at my watch
Policies aimed at reducing taxation
Leslie pointed at him
To
Identifying a particular relationship between one person and another
He's economic adviser to the president
He is married to his cousin Emma
At
Expressing the means by which something is done
Her pride had taken a beating at his hands
Holding a prison officer at knifepoint
To
Indicating that two things are attached or linked
They are inextricably linked to this island
He had left his dog tied to a drainpipe
At
A monetary unit of Laos, equal to one hundredth of a kip.
To
Concerning or likely to concern (something)
A threat to world peace
A reference to Psalm 22:18
At
In or near the area occupied by; in or near the location of
At the market.
At our destination.
To
Used to introduce the second element in a comparison
The club's nothing to what it once was
At
In or near the position of
Always at my side.
At the center of the page.
To
Placed before a debit entry in accounting.
At
To or toward the direction or location of, especially for a specific purpose
Questions came at us from all sides.
To
So as to be closed or nearly closed
He pulled the door to behind him
At
Present during; attending
At the dance.
To
In a direction toward so as to reach
Went to the city.
At
Within the interval or span of
At the dinner hour.
At a glance.
To
Towards
Turned to me.
At
In the state or condition of
At peace with one's conscience.
To
Reaching as far as
The ocean water was clear all the way to the bottom.
At
In the activity or field of
Skilled at playing chess.
Good at math.
To
To the extent or degree of
Loved him to distraction.
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.
To
With the resultant condition of
Nursed her back to health.
At
On, near, or by the time or age of
At three o'clock.
At 72 years of age.
To
Toward a given state
Helping minority women to economic equality.
At
On account of; because of
Rejoice at a victory.
To
In contact with; against
Their faces pressed to the windows.
At
By way of; through
Exited at the rear gate.
To
In front of
Stood face to face.
At
In accord with; following
At my request.
To
Used to indicate appropriation or possession
Looked for the top to the jar.
At
Dependent upon
At the mercy of the court.
To
Concerning; regarding
Waiting for an answer to my letter.
At
Occupied with
At work.
To
In a particular relationship with
The brook runs parallel to the road.
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
To
As an accompaniment or a complement of
Danced to the tune.
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
To
Composing; constituting
Two cups to a pint.
At
In the direction of (often in an unfocused or uncaring manner).
He threw the ball at me.
He shouted at her.
To
In accord with
Job responsibilities suited to her abilities.
At
Denotes a price.
3 apples at 2¢ (each)
The offer was at $30,000 before negotiations.
To
As compared with
A book superior to his others.
At
Occupied in (activity).
Men at work
To
Before
The time is ten to five.
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.
To
Up till; until
Worked from nine to five.
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.
To
For the purpose of
Went out to lunch.
At
Because of.
To laugh at a joke
Mad at their comments
To
In honor of
A toast to the queen.
At
Indicates a means, method, or manner.
To
Used before a verb to indicate the infinitive
I'd like to go.
At
Holding a given speed or rate.
It is growing at the rate of 3% a year.
Cruising along at fifty miles per hour.
To
Used alone when the infinitive is understood
Go if you want to.
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.
To
Used to indicate the relationship of a verb with its complement
Refer to a dictionary.
Refer me to a dictionary.
At
Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to
To
Used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusivity or separateness
Had the plane to ourselves.
At
On a particular date.
To
In one direction; toward a person or thing
Owls with feathers wrong end to.
At
The at sign (@).
To
Into a shut or closed position
Pushed the door to.
At
Rare form of @
To
Into a state of consciousness
The patient came to.
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.
To
Into a state of action or attentiveness
Sat down for lunch and fell to.
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.
To
(Nautical) Into the wind.
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.
To
Indicating destination: In the direction of, so as to arrive at.
We are walking to the shop.
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.
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.
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.
To
Used to indicate result of action.
His face was beaten to a pulp.
At
The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock; at twenty-one; at once; at first.
To
Used to indicate a resulting feeling or emotion.
To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.
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.
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.
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.
To
Denotes the end of a range.
It takes 2 to 4 weeks to process typical applications.
At
A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series); a decay product of uranium and thorium
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).
At
100 at equal 1 kip
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.
At
Indicating precise location.
She was waiting at the bus stop.
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.
At
Denoting a specific point in time.
The meeting starts at 10 am.
To
(time) Preceding the next hour.
What's the time? – It's quarter to four in the afternoon (or 3:45 pm).
At
Pointing to a particular state.
He's at peace with his decision.
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)
At
Expressing method or rate.
She sells the cookies at $2 each.
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.
To
According to
Our holiday did not go to plan.
To
At.
Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.
Where are you to?
To
(regionalism) Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.
Please push the door to.
To
(nautical) Into the wind.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
To
Addition; union; accumulation.
Wisdom he has, and to his wisdom, courage.
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.
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.
To
Indicating direction or destination.
They walked to the beach.
To
Expressing a relationship.
This letter is addressed to her.
To
Used with verbs to form infinitives.
To be or not to be.
Common Curiosities
When should I use at in terms of location?
Use at to indicate a specific, precise location.
Is at always about location?
Mostly, but it can also express states, methods, or rates.
Is at used in expressions?
Yes, like "at the end of the day" or "at first glance."
Can to denote a relationship between things?
Absolutely, like "This belongs to me."
Can at be used with time?
Yes, at can denote specific times, like "at noon."
How is to used in a range?
To can indicate a range or sequence, like "from A to Z."
Is to used in idiomatic expressions?
Yes, like "put pen to paper."
How is to used with verbs?
To can be used with verbs to form infinitives, e.g., to go, to see.
How is to used in terms of direction?
To indicates movement or direction towards a place, goal, or person.
When referring to emails, can I use at?
Yes, as in "Contact me at [[email protected]]."
Can to indicate a purpose?
Yes, to can show purpose, e.g., "I went to the store to buy milk."
Is to essential for certain verbs?
Yes, some verbs require to, like "listen to" or "talk to."
Can at show a method or rate?
Yes, for instance, "Sold at $5 each."
Can I use at with events?
Yes, like "I'll see you at the concert."
How does at differ from to in context?
While at emphasizes specificity in location or time, to often shows direction, purpose, or relationship.
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Wax vs. Lanolin
Next Comparison
Catch vs. TakeAuthor Spotlight
Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
