throwback

throw·back
T1H4R1O1W4B3A1C3K5
UK/ˈθɹəʊ.bæk/US/ˈθɹoʊ.bæk/

noun

A reversion to an earlier stage of development.

Less commonScrabble 23

Meanings

nounthrowback (countable and uncountable, plural throwbacks)

plural throwbacks

  1. countableuncountableA reversion to an earlier stage of development.

    The man from the future where technology makes all things possible is a throwback to our glorious industrial past, before America stagnated and stopped producing anything but rules, restrictions, limits, obstacles and Facebook.

    December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2021
    2 more examples

    You see, the House of Representatives recently passed a military budget that is wholly inadequate, a throwback to the seventies, a budget that is a breach of faith with our Armed Forces and our allies and would send exactly the wrong signal to the Soviets and their satellites.

    1986, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address - 17 May 1986

    My next train is a throwback to earlier times. TfW is now the only operator of the old single-car Class 153s (apart from a handful of ScotRail bike-carrying conversions), and a pair of them have turned up to take me to Carmarthen.

    2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 59
  2. countablederogatoryuncountableA person considered to be primitive, uncivilized and mentally deficient.
  3. countableuncountableAn organism that has characteristics of a more primitive form.
  4. countableuncountableAn atavism.
  5. countableuncountableA person similar to an ancestor, or something new similar to what already existed.

    "But this is marvellous. It might be his portrait." "Yes, it is an interesting instance of a throw-back, which appears to be both physical and spiritual. A study of family portraits is enough to convert a man to the doctrine of reincarnation. The fellow is a Baskerville—that is evident."

    1901 August – 1902 April, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Fixing the Nets”, in The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, London: George Newnes, […], published 1902, →OCLC, pages 296–297
  6. attributivecountableoftenslanguncountableA person or thing that evokes memories.

    It’s tempting to dismiss the 15-person outfit as out of touch. But Mayer may be onto something with Sunshine, and that’s nostalgia. Throwback tech is all the rage these days.

    2024 March 27, Connie Loizos, “Marissa Mayer's startup just rolled out photo sharing and event planning apps, and the internet isn't sure what to think”, in TechCrunch
    1 more example

    Céline Dion belted her iconic song "My Heart Will Go On" in a show-stopping performance at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards on May 21. The legendary singer gave the throwback performance in honor of the 20th anniversary of the hit song from the Titanic soundtrack.

    2017 May 22, Mallory Carra, “Celine Dion Is Making Everyone Cry”, in Bustle, BDG Media, retrieved 11 Oct 2021
  7. UScountableuncountableaccountingA practice to avoid untaxed nowhere income by instead taxing such income in the originating state for a given transaction.

    Attributing the gross receipts to the Member State of origin (i.e. applying a throwback rule) constitutes a benefit for that state that is not justified by the rationale of the gross receipts factor.

    2009, Stefan Mayer, chapter 4, in Formulary Apportionment for the Internal Market (Doctoral Series; 17), IBFD, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 220
    2 more examples

    Under the throwback rule, sales into a state where the taxpayer is not taxable are “thrown back” from the destination state to the origin state by adding the nontaxable sales to the numerator in the apportionment factor.

    2005, LeAnn Luna, “Throwback rules, multistate corporations”, in Joseph J. Cordes, Robert D. Ebel, Jane G. Gravelle, editors, The Encyclopedia of Taxation & Tax Policy (Second Edition), The Urban Institute Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 436

    The effect of the throwback rule is to distribute income according to sales in the origin state. The effect of the throwout rule is to distribute income according to the taxpayer’s overall activities as measured by the other apportionment factors.

    2006, Joann Martens-Weiner, chapter 4, in Company Tax Reform in the European Union: Guidance from the United States and Canada on Implementing Formulary Apportionment in the EU, Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., →ISBN, →LCCN, page 53

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivecharacteristic of an atavist

nounan organism that has the characteristics of a more primitive type of that organism

Similar

nouna reappearance of an earlier characteristic

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Bulgarian регрес
  • регрес (regres)reversion to an earlier stage of development
Finnish paluu, taantuminen
  • paluureversion to an earlier stage of development
  • taantuminenreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • atavismiorganism that has characteristics of a more primitive form
  • takaumasomeone or something similar
French retour en arrière, retour au passé
  • retour en arrièrereversion to an earlier stage of development
  • retour au passéreversion to an earlier stage of development
German Rückfall, Rückwurf
  • Rückfallreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • Rückwurfreversion to an earlier stage of development
Italian ritorno al passato, tuffo nel passato
  • ritorno al passatoreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • tuffo nel passatoreversion to an earlier stage of development
Japanese 先祖返り, 先祖返り
  • 先祖返り (senzogaeri)reversion to an earlier stage of development
  • 先祖返り (senzogaeri)organism that has characteristics of a more primitive form
Polish cofnięcie się, relikt
  • cofnięcie sięreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • reliktorganism that has characteristics of a more primitive form
  • powrót do przeszłościsomeone or something similar
Spanish salto [hacia / para] atrás, retroceso
  • salto [hacia / para] atrásreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • retrocesoreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • reversiónreversion to an earlier stage of development
  • vuelta al pasadoreversion to an earlier stage of development

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

throwback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throwback

MLA

“throwback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throwback. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throwback,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throwback.

Source: throwback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.