toss

USTAWS/tɔs/UKTOS/tɒs/

Noun pluraltosses

24 meanings of toss

1
verbtransitive
To throw something up into the air.
Like throwing a ball gently up so it floats over your head.
Toss the ball to me when you're ready.
She tossed the keys onto the table.
Similarthrow, fling, hurl, chuck, lob
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A light, careless throw of something up into the air.
Like a quick, easy throw up into the air.
She gave the ball a quick toss to her friend.
With a careless toss, he sent the paper into the bin.
Similarthrow, lob, flip, pitch, fling
3
verbcolloquialtransitive
To throw something away because you don't want it.
Like dropping trash into a bin and forgetting about it.
Toss those old newspapers in the trash.
He tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin.
Similardiscard, ditch, chuck, bin, junk
Oppositekeep, save
4
verbintransitive
To flip a coin to decide something.
Like letting a spinning coin choose the answer for you.
Let's toss for it and see who goes first.
They tossed a coin to decide who would drive.
Similarflip
Note
5
verbtransitive
To gently mix a salad so the dressing covers everything.
Like turning leaves over and over so the dressing reaches them all.
Toss the salad with a little olive oil before serving.
She tossed the greens until every leaf was coated.
Similarmix, combine, coat, stir
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6
nouncountable or uncountable
The coin flip at the start of a game that decides who plays first.
Like flipping a coin to choose who goes first in a game.
India won the toss and chose to bat.
The captain called heads but lost the toss.
Similarflip
Note
7
verbcolloquialtransitive
To quickly search a room or cell, often leaving a mess behind.
Like turning a room upside down to hunt for something hidden.
The guards came to toss his cell after the fight.
Police tossed the apartment looking for the stolen jewelry.
Similarsearch, ransack
Note
8
verbtransitive
To lift something up suddenly and hard.
Like jerking your head up fast when something surprises you.
The angry bull tossed its head from side to side.
Wild horses toss their manes when they run.
Similarjerk, flick, fling
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9
verbtransitive
To make someone feel restless and unable to relax.
Like a wind that won't let calm water stay still.
Bad dreams tossed her all night long.
Worries toss me until dawn whenever I'm anxious.
Similarvex, provoke, perturb
Oppositecalm, soothe, settle
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10
verbintransitive
To roll and turn around without stopping, like in rough water.
Like clothes turning over and over inside a washing machine.
The sick child tossed and turned all night.
Waves toss and crash against the rocks during a storm.
Similarthrash, writhe, roll, pitch, rock
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11
verbintransitive
Of a ship, to be thrown up and down by rough seas.
Like a toy boat bobbing up and down in a splashing bathtub.
The little boat tossed on the stormy sea.
Ships toss for days when a gale blows across the ocean.
Similarpitch, roll, rock, heave, lurch
12
nouncountable or uncountable
In TV or radio, the moment one presenter passes over to another.
Like passing a ball to a teammate so they can keep playing.
The anchor's toss to the weather reporter felt smooth and natural.
After a quick toss, the field reporter began her live report.
Similarhandover, handoff, throw
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13
nounslangBritishcountable or uncountable
A worried, upset state where someone cannot stay calm.
Like feeling all stirred up and jumpy when something goes wrong.
She got herself into a real toss when the train was canceled.
There was such a toss in the office after the bad news.
Similarstate, tizzy, flap, stew, lather
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14
nounslangBritishcountable or uncountable
The least little bit of caring about something.
She doesn't give a toss about being late again.
I don't give a toss what the neighbors think.
Similardamn, hoot, fig
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15
nounslangUKuncountable
Silly talk or writing that has no real meaning.
Like words that sound clever but really mean nothing at all.
The whole report was a load of toss from start to finish.
Don't believe him. It's all toss.
Similarnonsense, rubbish, drivel, tosh, twaddle
Oppositesense
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16
verbslangintransitive
To throw up the food in your stomach, usually because you feel sick.
Like your stomach pushing everything back up the way it came.
He felt so queasy after the ride that he had to toss behind the tent.
The bad fish made her toss not long after dinner.
Similarvomit, puke, barf, hurl, spew
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17
verbslangUKintransitive
To touch one's own private parts for sexual pleasure.
He went upstairs to toss off in private.
Teenagers will toss off whenever they get the chance.
Similarmasturbate, wank, frig, fap
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18
nounvulgarUKcountable or uncountable
A single act of touching oneself for sexual pleasure.
He had a quick toss and then fell asleep.
A toss in the shower was part of his morning routine.
Similarwank
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19
verbslangUKtransitive
To drink something quickly in big gulps.
Like drinking a whole glass in one big go when you're very thirsty.
Thirsty workers toss their water down in a few big gulps.
He tossed the whole glass of lemonade and asked for more.
Similarguzzle, chug, imbibe
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20
verbtransitive
To cause someone a lot of trouble or worry over a long time.
Like a small boat thrown around by big waves it cannot escape.
Money worries tossed the family for years.
Bad luck seemed to toss him at every turn.
Similarpester, beset, beleaguer
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21
nouncountable or uncountable
A proud, quick lift of the head.
Like flicking your head back to show you don't care what someone said.
She gave a quick toss of her head and looked away.
With one proud toss, he showed that he did not care.
Similarflick, jerk
22
verbtransitive
To lift the oars straight up out of their holders and rest the handles on the boat's floor.
Like standing a broom straight up with its handle on the floor.
The rowers tossed their oars when they reached the bank.
He learned to toss the oars neatly during early training.
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23
verbobsolete
To keep something moving about, or to turn it over and over.
spend four or fiue yeares, in tossing all the rules of Grammer in common scholes
a. 1569 (date written), Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster: Or Plaine and Perfite Way of Teaching ChildrenHere, tossing means turning over again and again, going through the rules repeatedly.
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24
nouncountable or uncountable
A fixed amount of small fish (sprats) sold as one lot at the market.
Like buying eggs by the dozen: a toss is just one set amount.
She bought a toss of sprats at the market this morning.
A single toss of sprats was enough to feed the whole family.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English tossen, meaning to shake or throw about. Its exact origin is not known.