-ward(s) (in the direction of)
-ward, -wards
Towards a direction.
The birds flew southwards before winter.
Backwards
Towards the back.
Joseph took two steps backwards to see the poster.
Homeward
Going towards home.
The homeward train from Pune was crowded.
Remember: In British English, -wards is usual for adverbs (walk backwards, look upwards); -ward is used before a noun (a backward glance). Americans often use -ward for both.