throw

The act of throwing something.

Noun

  1. The act of throwing something.
    • With an accurate throw, he lassoed the cow.
    • What a great throw by the quarterback!
    • The gambler staked everything on one throw of the dice.
  2. A move in which one lifts or unbalances one’s opponent and then brings him down to the ground.
  3. One’s ability to throw.
    • He’s always had a pretty decent throw.
  4. The distance travelled by something thrown.
    • a stone's throw
    • Only on the north-east may aught save a winged thing come at the castle, across a smooth grass-grown saddle less than a stone’s throw in width. - 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London:...
  5. The flight of a thrown object.
  6. A distance travelled in general; displacement.
    • the throw of the piston
    • The visibility of the screen image is affected by the length of throw of the projector, the type of projector, the intensity of the projector lamp, and the type of the screen. - 1947, James Jerome Gibson, Motion Picture...
  7. A piece of fabric used to cover a bed, sofa or other soft furnishing.

    Synonyms: throwover throw blanket

  8. A single instance, occurrence, venture, or chance.
    • Football tickets are expensive at fifty bucks a throw.
  9. Any of the projections integral to a crankshaft that receive or impart cranking motion from a connecting rod or similar component.
  10. A hand-operated lathe, especially a small lathe used by clockmakers.

Origin

From Middle English throwen, thrawen, from Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to twist, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn”). Cognate with Scots thraw (“to twist, turn, throw”), West Frisian triuwe (“to push”), Dutch draaien (“to turn”), Low German draien, dreien (“to turn (in a lathe)”), German drehen (“to turn”). Displaced warp as the word for hurling and was displaced by warp as the word for twisting.

Forms

throws

Derived

a stone's throw backside throw bike throw body throw corner throw counterthrow discus throw downthrow flip throw forced throw free throw hammer throw javelin throw long throw misthrow penalty throw rethrow saving throw stonesthrow stone's throw throward throwball throw blanket throw board

Noun obsolete

  1. A moment, time, occasion.
  2. A period of time; a while.
    • Downe himselfe he layd Vpon the grassie ground, to sleepe a throw; The cold earth was his couch, the hard steele his pillow. - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John...

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English þrāh, þrāg (“space of time, period, while”). Of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þragjan, “to run”).

Forms

throws

Synonyms

stound

Noun alt of, error lua exec

  1. Obsolete spelling of throe.
    • O man haue mind of that laſt bitter throw; For as the tree does fall, ſo lyes it euer low. - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC,...
    • [Valerius] Cordus ſaith, that Iuncus bombicinus ſodden in wine, and ſo taken, helpeth the throwes and gripings of the bellie, that women haue in their childing. - 1597, John Gerarde [i.e., John Gerard], “Of Cotton...
    • Commend me to them, And tell them, that to eaſe them of their greefes, Their feares of Hoſtile ſtrokes, their Aches loſſes, Their pangs of Loue, with other incident throwes That Natures fragile Veſſell doth ſuſtaine In...

Origin

See throe.

Forms

throws

Verb Entry 4

  1. To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air.
    • throw a shoe; throw a javelin; the horse threw its rider
    • When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by...

    Synonyms: bung cast fling hurl

  2. To eject or cause to fall off.
    • There the snake throws her enamelled skin. - c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True...

    Synonyms: eject throw off

  3. To move to another position or condition; to displace.
    • throw the switch
    • This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In...

    Synonyms: displace relocate

  4. To make (a pot) by shaping clay as it turns on a wheel.
    • Through practice, you’ll learn how to add the right amount of water as you throw a pot, and your fingers will feel when the pot has reached the proper thickness. - 2009 January 19, Linda Franz, Basic Pottery Making: All...
  5. To deliver (the ball) illegally by straightening the bowling arm during delivery.
  6. To send (an error) to an exception-handling mechanism in order to interrupt normal processing.
    • If the file is read-only, the method throws an invalid-operation exception.
  7. To intentionally lose a game.
    • The tennis player was accused of taking bribes to throw the match.
    • Four pairs of women's doubles badminton players, including the Chinese top seeds, have been ejected from the Olympic tournament for trying to throw matches in an effort to secure a more favourable quarter-final draw. -...

    Synonyms: take a dive

  8. To perform in a specified way in (a match).
    • The pitcher threw a perfect game.
  9. To confuse or mislead.
    • The deliberate red herring threw me at first.
    • “Jann, why does he hate me so much?” That question threw me. I was expecting a lunatic yelling profanities. - 1999, Jan Blackstone-Ford, The Custody Solutions Sourcebook, page 196:
  10. To send hastily or desperately.
    • Their sergeant threw the troops into pitched battle.
    • Stoke threw men forward in numbers as they attempted to find a way back into the game, and Mark Schwarzer was forced into a low save from Huth's close-range effort. - 2010 December 28, Marc Vesty, “Stoke 0-2 Fulham”, in...
  11. To imprison.
    • The magistrate ordered the suspect to be thrown into jail.
    • The plot of Felix was quickly discovered, and De Lacey and Agatha were thrown into prison. - 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume (please...
    • The standard method of dealing with an addict was to arrest him, throw him into a cell, and leave him until the agonizing pangs of withdrawal were over. - 1993, Margaret McKee, Fred Chisenhall, Beale black & blue: life...
  12. To organize an event, especially a party.
    • She was known for throwing the craziest parties in college.
    • And now, Clevelanders hoping to bring the Rock Roll Hall of Fame to their city are throwing a bash to commemorate the 34th birthday of disc Jockey Alan Freed’s “Moondog Coronation Ball”. - 1986 March 1, “Bash Planned”,...
    • Should you be interested, for whatever reason, it will tell you how to throw a party for your 40-year-old husband or your 100-year-old great-grandmother. It also describes games that can be played at various kinds of...

Forms

throws throwing threw throwed thrown no-table-tags glossary throw throwest threwst throweth - thrun

Synonyms

bung cast chuck chunk cook dash dump feck fling jerk heave hield hoy huck hurl hurtle launch lob peck peg pick pitch precipitate project

Antonyms

catch

Hypernyms

catapult direct fire propel send

Hyponyms

bowl egg flight flip throw down

Derived

bethrow counterthrow dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians forthrow like throwing a hot dog down a hallway like throwing a sausage down a hallway misthrow offthrow outthrow overthrow people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones rethrow thirl throller throwability throwable throw a bone to throw about throw a fit throw a kiss throw a mickey throw a monkey wrench in the works throw a monkey wrench into the works throw an ant into a sty

Verb alt of, obsolete

  1. Obsolete spelling of throe.
    • Pre-thee ſay on, The ſetting of thine eye, and cheeke proclaime A matter from thee; and a birth, indeed, Which throwes thee much to yeeld. - 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William...

Forms

throws throwing threw thrown

Synonyms

bung cast chuck chunk cook dash dump feck fling jerk heave hield hoy huck hurl hurtle launch lob peck peg pick pitch precipitate project

Antonyms

catch

Hypernyms

catapult direct fire propel send

Hyponyms

bowl egg flight flip throw down