Meanings
present singular third person throws in the towel · participle present throwing in the towel · past threw in the towel · participle past thrown in the towel · alternative throw the towel in
- idiomaticTo quit; to give up.
If their restaurant can't get business even on Mother's Day, it might be time for them to throw in the towel.
3 more examples
In short, there was so much space and so many things to shove things behind that most people, called on to find a silver cow-creamer there, would have said ‘Oh, what’s the use?’ and thrown in the towel.
1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 8, in Jeeves in the Offing, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1963 (1975 printing), →OCLC, page 67Many travellers are throwing in the towel on beach holidays in favour of quirky activities. If you would rather shear sheep and stalk vampires than sunbathe or siesta, here’s 25 breaks that could be a real trip
2016 August 14, Dara Flynn, “A different direction”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2026, page 17One key imponderable is the attitude of the companies that will no longer have a role in the business. It is worth noting here that several have already thrown the towel in or been gently pushed out, such as Stagecoach and National Express.
2024 July 10, Christian Wolmar, “The future of the rail franchises is certainly uncertain”, in RAIL, number 1013, page 50Synonyms: throw in the cards, throw in the sponge, throw up one's hands, throw up the sponge
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo quit; to give up.
More synonyms by meaning
verbgive up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From the traditional signal from a boxer's support staff of throwing such an item into a boxing ring to indicate that the contestant cannot continue the match and is forfeiting to the opponent.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan llançar la tovallola, tirar la tovallola
- llançar la tovallola(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- tirar la tovallola(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Czech hodit flintu do žita
- hodit flintu do žita(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Danish kaste håndklædet i ringen, smide håndklædet i ringen
- kaste håndklædet i ringen(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- smide håndklædet i ringen(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Dutch de handdoek in de ring werpen
- de handdoek in de ring werpen(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Estonian alla andma
- alla andma(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Finnish heittää pyyhe kehään
- heittää pyyhe kehään(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
French jeter l'éponge, jeter la serviette
- jeter l'éponge(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- jeter la serviette(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- jeter le manche après la cognée(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
German das Handtuch werfen, den Hut draufhauen
- das Handtuch werfen(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- den Hut draufhauen(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- die Flinte ins Korn werfen(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Hungarian bedobja a törülközőt
- bedobja a törülközőt(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Icelandic leggja árar í bát, springa á limminu
- leggja árar í bát(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- springa á limminu(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- henda inn handklæðinu(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Indonesian melempar handuk
- melempar handuk(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Irish an tuáille a chaitheamh isteach
- an tuáille a chaitheamh isteach(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Italian gettare la spugna, gettare le armi
- gettare la spugna(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- gettare le armi(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Japanese 匙を投げる, お手上げ
- 匙を投げる (saji o nageru)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- お手上げ (oteage)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Malay putih mata
- putih mata(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Norwegian kaste inn håndkledet
- kaste inn håndkledet(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Polish rozkładać ręce, rozłożyć ręce
- rozkładać ręce(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- rozłożyć ręce(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Portuguese jogar a toalha
- jogar a toalha(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Russian подня́ть бе́лый флаг, опусти́ть ру́ки
- подня́ть бе́лый флаг (podnjátʹ bélyj flag)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- опусти́ть ру́ки (opustítʹ rúki)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- сда́ться (sdátʹsja)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- призна́ть своё пораже́ние (priznátʹ svojó poražénije)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- призна́ть себя́ побежде́нным (priznátʹ sebjá pobeždénnym)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- сложи́ть ору́жие (složítʹ orúžije)(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Scottish Gaelic leig an saoghal leis an t-sruth
- leig an saoghal leis an t-sruth(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Slovak hadzať flintu do žita
- hadzať flintu do žita(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Spanish tirar la toalla, botar la toalla
- tirar la toalla(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- botar la toalla(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- tirar la toballa(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- tirar la tobaja(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Swedish kasta in handduken, kasta yxan i sjön
- kasta in handduken(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- kasta yxan i sjön(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Turkish havlu atmak
- havlu atmak(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Welsh rhoi'r ffidil yn y to, taflu'r drol
- rhoi'r ffidil yn y to(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
- taflu'r drol(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Cite this entry
throw in the towel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20in%20the%20towel
“throw in the towel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20in%20the%20towel. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw in the towel,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20in%20the%20towel.
Source: throw in the towel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.