DictionaryAI

throw

SayTHROH/θɹoʊ/UK/θɹəʊ/

Verbthrows, throwing, threw, thrown

Noun pluralthrows

37 meanings of throw

Practice

  1. 1
    flingverbtransitive
    To propel an object rapidly through the air with force, by hand or with an apparatus, including passing a ball in a sport such as American football.

    Can you throw me the car keys before you head out?

    The kids spent the afternoon throwing a tennis ball for the dog in the park.

    UsageThrow something to someone to be caught, but at someone to hit them. Past forms: threw, thrown.

    Similartoss, hurl, fling, pitch, launch

    Oppositecatch

    Note

    Figurative uses come easily: The American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1898) has Mr. Trevor throw shame to the winds.

  2. 2
    move sharplyverbtransitive
    To move something to another position or condition; to displace it.

    He threw the engine into gear and sped off.

    A single command can throw the system into maintenance mode.

    UsageOften an object plus into or out of: threw the car into gear. Also throw a switch.

    Similardisplace, relocate

    Note

    Here the force goes into a change of state rather than a flight. One throws a switch or throws an engine into gear. A person can be thrown on their own resources, as Lilian is in W. B. Maxwell's The Mirror and the Lamp (1918).

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • W. B. Maxwell wrote The Mirror and the Lamp, published in 1918. openlibrary.org
    • Lilian is described as thrown on her own resources in The Mirror and the Lamp. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    send off (rider)verbtransitive
    To eject someone or something, or cause it to fall off.

    The bucking bronco threw the cowboy in the first second.

    The crash was violent enough to throw both riders from their bikes.

    UsageWith riders the bare verb is usual: the horse threw her. People are also thrown from a bike or car.

    Similareject

    Note

    Two kinds of falling-off share this sense: a rider unseated and a skin shed. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream has the snake that “throws her enamelled skin,” and throw off would serve equally well there.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • William Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream. gutenberg.org
    • The play contains the quoted description of a snake shedding its skin, spoken by Oberon. gutenberg.org
  4. 4
    send towardverbtransitive
    To project or send something forth toward a person or place, such as a look, a remark, or light.

    The fire threw flickering shadows on the cave walls.

    During the long meeting he would throw a nervous glance at the clock every few minutes.

    UsageCommon pairings: throw a glance at someone, throw shadows on a wall.

    Similarcast, shoot, dart, project, send

  5. 5
    act of tossingnouncountable
    An act of throwing something through the air, the path it follows, or the strength and accuracy with which someone throws.

    The quarterback's throw traveled forty yards downfield.

    A clumsy throw sent the dart into the wall instead of the board.

    Similartoss, pitch, pass, lob

    Oppositecatch

    Note

    One noun serves every kind of throwing: a lasso's accurate throw, a quarterback's great throw, and one throw of the dice that a gambler stakes everything on. Programmers use it too. In a 2006 volume of Trends in Functional Programming, “a throw” is an expression whose evaluation raises an exception and unwinds the stack in search of a handler.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  6. 6
    hostverbtransitive
    To organize and host an event, especially a party.

    The company threw a lavish gala to celebrate its anniversary.

    They wanted to throw a reception that no one would forget.

    UsageThrow a party means host one (not incorrect: make a party). Have or give a party also works.

    Similarhost, hold, give, organize, stage

  7. 7
    confuseverbcolloquialtransitive
    To confuse or mislead someone, catching them off guard.

    A trick question like that can throw even experienced candidates.

    The detective's calm demeanor threw the suspect off balance.

    UsageOften passive: was thrown by the question. Also throw someone off or off balance.

    Similarconfuse, disconcert, rattle, unsettle, faze

  8. 8
    put on carelesslyverbtransitive
    To put something on in a hurry, or to spread it out carelessly.

    He threw on an old sweater and rushed out the door.

    Throw a tarp over the woodpile before the rain starts.

    UsageUsually with on or over: throw on a sweater, throw a tarp over the logs.

    Similartoss, fling, slip, pull, drape

    Note

    Haste and carelessness are the point. The verb suggests clothing pulled on without fuss or a cover tossed loosely over something. Pope's 1725–1726 translation of the Odyssey could still use the bare verb: “O'er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw.”

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The translation was first published in installments in 1725–1726, beginning in 1725. apps.lib.umich.edu
    • The quoted wording occurs in Pope's translation of the Odyssey. gutenberg.org
  9. 9
    distance reachednouncountable
    The distance covered by an object that has been thrown.

    The javelin athlete's throw exceeded eighty meters.

    From the outfield fence, home plate is a very long throw for most high school players.

    UsageCommon in a stone's throw from, meaning very near.

    Note

    Distance by throwing survives mainly in one idiom, a stone's throw, meaning a short way. It can describe a real span, as in E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros (1922), where a grassy saddle is “less than a stone's throw in width.” It can also mean simply very near: the café is a stone's throw from the station.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  10. 10
    show angerverbtransitive
    To display sudden emotion, especially anger, in an outburst.

    He threw a fit when the referee reversed the call.

    Children sometimes throw tantrums when they are overtired.

    UsageSet phrases: throw a tantrum, throw a fit, throw a hissy fit.

    Similarhave

    Note

    The phrase suggests a display, often childish or theatrical, rather than a private feeling. That is why it is used of toddlers and, with some mockery, of adults, as in New York Magazine's 1996 account of a woman who "threw a hissy fit" to get on a trip.

  11. 11
    jailverbtransitive
    To put someone into prison or confinement.

    The regime threw dissidents into prison without trial.

    Authorities can throw repeat offenders behind bars for decades.

    UsageNeeds a place: thrown into prison, thrown in jail. Often passive, suggesting force and little ceremony.

    Similarput, clap, cast, fling

    Oppositerelease, free

    Note

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has De Lacey and Agatha “thrown into prison” once a plot is discovered.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. gutenberg.org
    • Frankenstein describes De Lacey and Agatha as “thrown into prison” after a plot is discovered. gutenberg.org
  12. 12
    punchverbtransitive
    To deliver a blow, such as a punch, to an opponent.

    The boxer threw a powerful right hook in the final round.

    Learn to throw a clean punch without dropping your guard.

    UsageUsually throw a punch or a combination; the target follows at: threw a punch at him.

    Similardeliver, launch, swing

    Note

    The phrase describes launching the blow, not landing it, so a punch can be thrown and miss. It also works in the negative, for refusing to fight, as in a 1941 Newsweek line: “not only did I not want to throw a punch at him.”

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  13. 13
    perform (pitcher)verbtransitive
    To play a match in a particular way, said of a player whose role is to throw something, such as a baseball pitcher.

    Few pitchers ever throw a no-hitter, and most never come close.

    The rookie quarterback threw a nearly flawless game in his first start.

    UsageCommon expressions include threw a perfect game, threw a gem, and threw a shutout. Threw the game usually means lost on purpose.

    Similarpitch

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of throw apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English throwen, from Old English þrāwan ("to turn, twist"), going back through Proto-Germanic *þrēaną to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to rub or twist." It is related to Dutch draaien and German drehen ("to turn"). Over time it took over "warp" as the word for hurling, while "warp" took over its old sense of twisting.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 8 facts