Today means on or during this current day (adverb), or it refers to the current day itself (noun). Example: Today is a perfect day for a walk in the park.
What Does Today Mean?
Today comes from Old English tōdæg, a fusion of the preposition to (meaning "on") and dæg (day). The same formation produced tonight and tomorrow. It has been part of the core English lexicon since before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest high-frequency words still in daily use.
As an adverb, today modifies a verb or clause to indicate that an action takes place on the present calendar day: "I have a meeting today." As a noun, it stands alone as the subject or object of a sentence: "Today is the deadline." Both functions are equally natural and appear at every level of formality, from text messages to formal reports.
Beyond its literal time reference, today is frequently used with a broader sense to mean "in the present era" or "in modern times": "Today's learners have access to resources that were unimaginable in the past." This figurative use is common in journalism, academic writing, and marketing copy, and is worth distinguishing from the day-specific meaning.
Example Sentences
| Sentence | Level | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| Today is a perfect day for a walk in the park. | A2 | today as noun subject |
| I have already finished my homework today. | B1 | today with present perfect |
| She called me earlier today to confirm the appointment. | B1 | earlier today — specifying time of day |
| Today's global challenges require collaborative, long-term solutions. | B2 | today's + noun — possessive, meaning "of the present era" |
| What was once considered cutting-edge technology is, by today's standards, remarkably primitive. | C1 | by today's standards — formal comparative phrase |
Collocations
| Collocation | Example |
|---|---|
| today's date | Please write today's date at the top of your paper. |
| today's meeting | I have sent the agenda for today's meeting. |
| earlier today | The prime minister spoke to journalists earlier today. |
| later today | The results will be announced later today. |
| as of today | As of today, all applications must be submitted online. |
| by today | The report must be submitted by today. |
| even today | Even today, many communities lack access to clean water. |
| today's standards | By today's standards, the equipment looks outdated. |
| starting today | Starting today, the new policy will be in effect. |
| today's news | Have you seen today's news? The results were surprising. |
Usage Notes
Use today when you mean the specific calendar day you are currently in. When referring to parts of the present day, use this morning, this afternoon, this evening, or tonight — not today morning or today night, which are non-standard in British and American English.
In formal writing, today used as a noun can take a possessive apostrophe: today's agenda, today's prices. This possessive construction is very common in headlines and business English. Note that today does not take an article in its adverb role — you do not say "on the today" or "in a today".
Be careful not to confuse today with nowadays. Nowadays always refers to the general present period and cannot pinpoint a single day: you can say "I am busy today" but not "I am busy nowadays" (which would imply you are always busy these days, not specifically on this day).
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For
I will see you on today.
I will see you today. (today is already a time adverb — no preposition needed)
Today morning I went for a run.
This morning I went for a run. (use this + morning/afternoon/evening, not today + part of day)
The today's lesson was very interesting.
Today's lesson was very interesting. (today's is already a determiner — no article before it)