throw

present singular third person throws · participle present throwing · past threw · nonstandard past throwed · participle past thrown · nonstandard participle past throwed · nonstandard participle past threw · first person past singular threw · archaic present second person singular throwest · past second person singular threw · archaic past second person singular threwst · present singular third person throws · archaic present singular third person throweth · past singular third person threw · past plural threw · past subjunctive threw

1. transitiveTo 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

   1 more example

   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 proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   Synonyms: bung, cast, fling, hurl

2. transitiveTo eject or cause to fall off.

   the horse threw its rider

   1 more example

   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 Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

   Synonyms: eject, throw off

3. transitiveTo move to another position or condition; to displace.

   throw the switch

   1 more example

   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 a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.

   1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

   Synonyms: displace, relocate

4. transitiveceramicsTo 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 the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started, Stackpole Books, →ISBN

5. transitiveball gamesTo deliver (the ball) illegally by straightening the bowling arm during delivery.
6. transitivecomputingTo 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. hobbiesTo intentionally lose a game.

   The tennis player was accused of taking bribes to throw the match.

   1 more example

   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.

   2012 August 1, Peter Walker, Haroon Siddique, Eight Olympic badminton players disqualified for 'throwing games', Guardian Unlimited

   Synonyms: take a dive

8. transitivehobbies(of a game where one’s role is throwing something) To perform in a specified way in (a match).

   The pitcher threw a perfect game.

9. informaltransitiveTo confuse or mislead.

   The deliberate red herring threw me at first.

   1 more example

   “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. figurativelytransitiveTo send hastily or desperately.

    Their sergeant threw the troops into pitched battle.

    1 more example

    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 BBC

11. transitiveTo imprison.

    The magistrate ordered the suspect to be thrown into jail.

    2 more examples

    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 specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC

    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 and music on black America’s main street, page 30

12. transitiveTo organize an event, especially a party.

    She was known for throwing the craziest parties in college.

    2 more examples

    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”, in Evening News

    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 parties[…]

    1979 July, Working Mother, page 72

13. ambitransitiveTo roll (a die or dice).

    The kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. The Swedish king threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely throw.

    1844, Snorri Sturluson, translated by Samuel Laing, Heimskringla

14. transitiveTo cause a certain number on the die or dice to be shown after rolling it.

    The kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. The Swedish king threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely throw.

    1844, Snorri Sturluson, translated by Samuel Laing, Heimskringla

15. transitivebridgeTo discard.

    Declarer threw his queen of spades on the high diamond. He then won the last three tricks with his ace, queen and nine of hearts behind East’s jack third.

    1990 January 4, “Sharp coup overcomes trump split”, in The Washington Times

16. governmentTo lift or unbalance one’s opponent and then bring him back down to the ground, especially into a position behind the thrower.

    So they stood up, and wrastled another while in silence. Soon the King made trial once again of the fall whereby he had sought to throw him in the first bout, twisting suddenly his right side against Goldry, and catching with his leg Goldry’s leg, and therewith leaning against him with main force.

    1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 25

17. transitiveTo change (one’s voice) in order to give the illusion that the voice is that of someone else, or coming from a different place.

    “Then, when I throw my voice, when I speak as someone who’s quite different from me, it starts to feel very authentic.”

    2005 April 13, Leon Neyfakh, “BOOKENDS: Will the Real Jonathan Safran Foer Please Stand Up”, in Harvard Crimson

18. transitiveTo show sudden emotion, especially anger.

    In 1975, pregnant with the second of her three children, she threw a hissy fit to get on a trip to Boston for elected officials.

    1996 August 19, “Entertaining Mrs Stone”, in New York Magazine, volume 29, number 32

    1 more example

    Bill runs into the kitchen and tells Dad that Erik is throwing a tantrum. He tells Bill to go back and watch his program and to ignore his brother. Fifteen minutes later, Erik is still screaming[…]

    1991, Janet L. Davies, Ellen Hastings Janosik, Mental health and psychiatric nursing: a caring approach

19. transitiveTo project or send forth.

    Warwick left the undertaker's shop and retraced his steps until he had passed the lawyer’s office, toward which he threw an affectionate glance.

    1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars

    1 more example

    In other European cities the president visited this week, people waited for his motorcade to pass to throw insults at him, requiring the police to intervene with batons, water cannons and tear gas.

    2007 June 11, Claude Salhani, “Analysis: Irony of Bush's European tour”, in UPI

20. transitiveTo make a shape or gesture with the hands.

    The teens were throwing gang signs.

    1 more example

    I threw scissors but she threw rock and beat me.

21. To put on hastily; to spread carelessly.

    O’er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw.

    1726, Alexander, transl. Pope, “Book III”, in The Odyssey, translation of original by Homer, line 596; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902, page 543

22. transitiveTo prepare (a cocktail) by pouring liquid between shakers from a height.

    The barman taught me how to throw a cocktail.

23. To twist two or more filaments of (silk, etc.) so as to form one thread; to twist together, as singles, in a direction contrary to the twist of the singles themselves; sometimes applied to the whole class of operations by which silk is prepared for the weaver.

    A person named Crocket endeavoured to throw silk at Derby in the year 1702 ; but his machinery was imperfect

    1829, Stephen Glover, Thomas Noble, The History of the County of Derby

24. slangusuallya managerball gamesTo select (a pitcher); to assign a pitcher to a given role (such as starter or reliever).

    I have a minor quibble with Gleason’s decision to throw Lefty Williams in Game Eight with the Series in the balance.

    2009, Michael T. Lynch, Jr., It Ain’t So: A Might-Have-Been History of the White Sox in 1919 and Beyond, →ISBN, page 63

25. transitiveTo install (a bridge).

    […] across the rapid smaragdus-green waters, pouring onward into the country, are thrown three bridges […]

    1860, Fredrika Bremer (trans. Mary Howitt), Life in the Old World, v. 1, p. 164

26. Northern EnglandScotlandobsoleteTo twist or turn.

    a thrown nail

27. American footballSynonym of pass.

    Synonyms: pass

28. transitiveTo deliver.

    […] not only did I not want to throw a punch at him, I wanted to give him a solid silver token of thanks […]

    1941, Newsweek, volume 18, page 54

29. transitivebiologyOf animals: to give birth to (young).

    They can kid twice a year if things are right, and they often throw twins and triplets.

    2008, Monte Dwyer, Red In The Centre: The Australian Bush Through Urban Eyes, Monyer Pty Ltd, page 200

    1 more example

    At the end of the normal gestation period the cow threw two calf mummies as large as cats.

    1916, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, volume 49

plural throws

1. The act of throwing something.

   What a great throw by the quarterback!

   3 more examples

   With an accurate throw, he lassoed the cow.

   The gambler staked everything on one throw of the dice.

   If the expression is a throw, we unwind the stack seeking a handler expression.

   2006, Hans-Wolfgang Loidl, Trends in Functional Programming, volume 5, page 62

2. governmentA 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

   1 more example

   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: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 104

5. The flight of a thrown object.
6. A distance travelled in general; displacement.

   the throw of the piston

   1 more example

   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 Testing and Research, number 7, page 49

7. A piece of fabric used to cover a bed, sofa or other soft furnishing.

   Synonyms: throwover, throw blanket

8. informalA 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. historicalA hand-operated lathe, especially a small lathe used by clockmakers.

plural throws

1. obsoleteA moment, time, occasion.
2. obsoleteA 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 Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

plural throws

1. error lua execobsoleteObsolete spelling of throe.

   Seiz'd by the general joy, his heart diſtends With gentle throws; […]

   a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 161, lines 1322–1323

   4 more examples

   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, stanza 41, page 146

   [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 Grasse”, in The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. […], London: […] Edm[und] Bollifant, for Bonham and Iohn Norton, →OCLC, book I, page 27

   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 lifes vncertaine voyage, I will ſome kindnes do them, […]

   c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 97, column 1

   I had then ſuch Convulſions in my Stomach, for want of ſome Suſtenance, that I cannot deſcribe; with ſuch frequent Throws and Pangs of Appetite, that nothing but the Tortures of Death can imitate; […]

   1719, [Daniel Defoe], The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 203

present singular third person throws · participle present throwing · past threw · participle past thrown

1. obsoleteObsolete 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 Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 8, column 1