throats

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of throat.

   Strep infections leave many people with raw, painful throats.

   The runners' throats burned in the freezing morning air.

   Note

   A plain -s plural that serves every meaning of the noun, not only the neck. Builders speak of the throats of chimneys, the narrowing stretch between the gathering and the flue. Sailors speak of the throats of gaff sails, their upper fore corners. Any vessel that narrows to an opening has one too. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, so the words around it usually show which one you are reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of throat.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is uncommon, so it turns up mostly in writing about the voice: a singer throats a note by sounding it deep in the throat. An informal use means taking something into the throat. An old UK dialect sense, mowing beans against the way they lean, is now obsolete. With I, you, we or they, use the bare form throat.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2