throw about

verb

To change direction; to change from one tack to another.

“When the ship entered the violent storm, all the passengers were thrown about.”

Similar
go aboutput about
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Meanings

verbthrow about (third-person singular simple present throws about, present participle throwing about, simple past threw about, past participle thrown about)

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

  1. obsoletenauticalTo change direction; to change from one tack to another.

    That now vnto despaire I gin to growe, And meane for better winde about to throwe.

    1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    when they were got about two miles a-head, they threw about, and stood for us again

    1805, The Naval Chronicle: Volume 14, July-December 1805

    Synonyms: go about, put about

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, about.

    When the ship entered the violent storm, all the passengers were thrown about.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo change direction; to change from one tack to another.

Similar
go aboutput about
Cite this entry
APA

throw about. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20about

MLA

“throw about.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20about. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw about,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20about.

Source: throw about on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.