Forward - forwards

Writers sometimes ask "what is the difference between forward and forwards (with the '-s')?" The answer is in essence that writers of British English prefer forwards for the adverb, while writers of American English prefer forward. For both varieties, the form forward is preferred for adjectives, although it should be noted that these are only tendencies, not absolute rules. The noun and the verb are always forward - forwards is merely the plural form of the noun and the 3rd person singular form of the present tense of the verb.See also -ward - -wards, for a general and etymological article.

In nautical pronunciation, the '-w-' is often stifled, the first vowel strengthened to that in 'got' (IPA: /ɒ/, and the second vowel reduced to schwa (/ə/), often represented as 'forr'ard[s]' (/ˈfɒr ɛd[z]/). In the usual formal pronunciations of both RP and GenAm, the pronunciation has more evenly stressed syllables, with the vowels of the constituent elements (fore and -wards): 'FOUR-wards'. /ˈfɒ^r wɛ^rd[z]/.

You may also want to seee AWE's article on Backward - backwards.

AWE has a separate article clarifying some specific branches of meaning of forward at forward (meanings).