To help forward; to assist.
"The mentor's advice helped further his career goals by connecting him with key industry leaders."
In plain English: To further means to make something move forward or develop more.
"They decided to further their education by enrolling in a master's program."
Usage: Use the verb further only when describing the specific act of helping someone progress toward a goal or advance their plans. It is incorrect to use it simply to mean "continue" in phrases like "further talking," where you should instead say "keep talking."
More distant; relatively distant.
"The further we drove into the mountains, the colder it became and the fewer people we saw on the road."
In plain English: Further means going beyond what has already been said or done.
"Please provide no further information until we have finished our discussion."
Usage: Use "further" as an adjective to describe something that is physically more distant from a reference point, such as in "a further room down the hall." Do not use it to mean additional or extra, as that is the specific role of "farther" for physical distance and "further" for abstract progress.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (`further' is used more often than `farther' in this abstract sense)
"further complicated by uncertainty about the future"
"let's not discuss it further"
"nothing could be further from the truth"
"they are further along in their research than we expected"
"the application of the law was extended farther"
"he is going no farther in his studies"
in addition or furthermore
"if we further suppose"
"stated further that he would not cooperate with them"
"they are definitely coming; further, they should be here already"
to or at a greater distance in time or space (`farther' is used more frequently than `further' in this physical sense)
"farther north"
"moved farther away"
"farther down the corridor"
"the practice may go back still farther to the Druids"
"went only three miles further"
"further in the future"
To, at or over a greater distance in space, time or other extent.
"The hikers continued further up the mountain than they had planned for today."
In plain English: Further means to go more of the way or to an even greater extent.
"We need to discuss this matter further before making a decision."
Usage: Use further to indicate movement or progress toward a more distant point in space, time, or degree. It functions as an adverb to show that something extends beyond what has already been mentioned or achieved.
The word "further" comes from Old English furþor, meaning "more forward." It entered Middle English with the same sense of extending distance or degree before traveling into modern usage.