They mean the same thing and are used the same way — the only difference is which side of the Atlantic you are writing for. American English prefers <em>toward</em> ("she walked toward the station"); British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand English prefer <em>towards</em> ("she walked towards the station"). Neither is a misspelling of the other.
The core difference: dialect, not grammar
There is no rule here about meaning, formality or part of speech. Both forms are prepositions covering direction (towards the door), attitude (her feelings towards him), purpose (a contribution towards the fund) and approximate time (towards the end of April). Any of those sentences takes either spelling.
What differs is regional habit, and it is a strong one. In American publishing, toward is the house style almost everywhere and the -s form reads as slightly foreign. In British publishing the position is reversed: towards is overwhelmingly the norm, and toward looks either American or archaic. Neither preference is enforced by grammar — style guides simply follow the usage of their readers.
The test you can run
Ask who you are writing for, not what you are saying:
- US audience, US publication, US client → toward
- UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ, South Africa, India → towards
- Genuinely mixed or international audience → pick one and use it every time
Consistency is the part readers actually notice. Nobody will flag towards in an American document, but they will notice if paragraph two says toward and paragraph six says towards. Run a find-and-replace before you file.
The wider pattern
The same optional -s attaches to a whole set of direction words: forward(s), backward(s), upward(s), downward(s), onward(s), afterward(s). British English tends to keep the -s on the adverb, American English tends to drop it. Once you have chosen a convention, apply it across the whole family rather than word by word.
The edge case
One position is fixed regardless of dialect: when these words act as adjectives before a noun, they never take the -s. It is a forward pass, the downward trend, a backward glance — never a forwards pass. And in the fixed expression look forward to, everyone writes forward, including British writers who would otherwise say he stepped forwards.
Toward and towards themselves are prepositions only, so this adjective rule never bites them — but the pattern is worth knowing, because the neighbouring words are where the real errors happen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is "towards" incorrect in American English?
No, just uncommon. American readers understand it perfectly and it appears in edited US prose from time to time, but toward is the expected form and most US style guides call for it.
Which one should I use if my readers are international?
Either — choose based on where most of your audience is, or match the rest of your spelling. If your document already uses colour and organise, towards fits; if it uses color and organize, use toward.
Is it "look forward" or "look forwards"?
Look forward, in every variety of English. It is a set phrase, so the -s never appears, even for writers who otherwise use towards and backwards.