INDEX:
to throw something through the air
1. to throw something
2. to throw a ball in a game
3. to throw something small and light with your fingers
4. to attack someone by throwing things at them
5. when a sudden force throws someone or something through the air
to throw rubbish or other unwanted things away
6. to throw something away
7. designed to be used once and then thrown away
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ GET RID OF
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1. to throw something
▷ throw /θrəʊ/ [transitive verb]
to make something such as a ball fly through the air by moving your arm quickly and letting it go :
▪ The boys were throwing and catching a frisbee on the beach.
throw something on/onto/across/down etc something
▪ John stood on the beach, throwing stones into the waves.
throw something at somebody/something
in order to try and hit them
▪ She was so angry that she threw the pan straight at my head.
▪ A couple of kids started throwing stones at my window.
throw somebody something
when you want someone to catch something
▪ Carrie threw him a box of matches.
throw something to somebody
▪ The La Scala crowd cheered and threw flowers to the 57-year-old tenor.
▷ chuck /tʃʌk/ [transitive verb] informal
to throw something, especially in a careless way :
chuck something on/out of/into etc something
▪ She took off her shoes and chucked them on the floor.
chuck somebody something
▪ Chuck me those cigarettes, would you?
▷ sling /slɪŋ/ [transitive verb]
to throw something carelessly, especially using a lot of force :
sling something into/down/over etc something
▪ The baggage handlers just sling the cases in the back of the bus -- they don’t care if anything gets broken.
▪ He watched horrified as they slung the body over the cliff.
▷ toss /tɒsǁtɔːs/ [transitive verb]
to throw something, especially in a careless, relaxed way :
toss something into/out of/down etc something
▪ The fire was started when a passing motorist carelessly tossed a cigarette out of his car.
toss somebody something
▪ He tossed her last week’s edition of the ‘Herald’.
toss something to somebody
▪ ‘Catch!’ said Sandra, tossing her bag to Andy.
▷ lob /lɒbǁlɑːb/ [transitive verb]
to throw something so that it goes high in the air before coming down :
lob something over/across etc something
▪ Local kids keep lobbing empty beer cans over our fence.
lob something at somebody
when you want to hit them
▪ Someone lobbed a book at me, and it hit me in the face.
▷ pitch /pɪtʃ/ [transitive verb] American
to throw something quickly and carelessly :
pitch something across/over/onto etc something
▪ Tod pitched his coat onto the sofa and ran toward the kitchen.
pitch something to somebody
when you want someone to catch something
▪ She pitched the ball to the little boy.
▷ hurl /hɜːʳl/ [transitive verb]
to throw a heavy object in a violent way, especially because you are angry :
hurl something at somebody/something
when you want to hit them
▪ Some demonstrators began hurling bricks at the police.
hurl something into/out of/across etc something
▪ He picked up the chair and hurled it across the room.
▷ fling /flɪŋ/ [transitive verb]
to throw something quickly and with a lot of force :
fling something out of/down/into etc something
▪ He pulled the knife from her hand and flung it out of the window.
fling something at somebody
when you want to hit them
▪ When he gave her the tickets she ripped them up and flung them at him.
fling somebody something
when you want someone to catch something
▪ We flung him the safety rope.
2. to throw a ball in a game
▷ throw /θrəʊ/ [transitive verb]
▪ He threw the ball so hard it went over their heads.
throw something at/into etc something
▪ Julie threw the basketball straight into the net.
throw something to somebody
▪ Cromartie ran after the ball and threw it back to the pitcher in one smooth movement.
throw [countable noun]
▪ That was a very long throw -- at least 80 yards.
▷ pass /pɑːsǁpæs/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to throw the ball to another player in your team :
▪ You should have passed and let Joe take the shot.
pass to
▪ Johnson passes to White, White passes to Eliot, and Eliot scores!
pass something to somebody
▪ The quarterback passed the ball to Olson, who ran in for a touchdown.
▷ pitch /pɪtʃ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to throw the ball in baseball so that someone from the other team can try to hit it with the bat :
▪ Johnny learned to pitch by aiming at a target his Dad had painted on the side of the garage.
▪ Ryan pitched a curve ball which easily beat the batter.
pitch [countable noun]
▪ The pitch went wide.
▷ bowl /bəʊl/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to throw the ball in cricket so that someone from the other team can try to hit it with the bat :
▪ The batsman straightened up as Warne came in to bowl.
▪ He’s a very aggressive bowler -- he always bowls the ball straight at the batsman’s body.
3. to throw something small and light with your fingers
▷ toss/flip /tɒsǁtɔːs, flɪp/ [transitive verb]
▪ Mum tried to toss the pancake but unfortunately it missed the pan and hit the floor.
toss/flip something into/over etc something
▪ Josh took a mint and flipped it into his mouth like a dime.
toss/flip a coin
make a coin go upwards and spin in the air, for example as a way of deciding something
▪ We couldn’t decide which movie to go to, so in the end we just flipped a coin.
▷ flick /flɪk/ [transitive verb]
to make something small and light go forward through the air with a quick movement of your thumb and finger :
flick something off/into/over etc something
▪ He paused and flicked a mosquito off his arm.
flick something at somebody
in order to try and hit someone
▪ Stop flicking water at me!
4. to attack someone by throwing things at them
▷ pelt /pelt/ [transitive verb]
pelt somebody with something
▪ The boys sat in the back of the class, pelting each other with pieces of rolled up paper.
▪ When the Vice-president toured the area in 1958 he was pelted with rotten eggs by angry farmers.
pelt something at somebody
▪ Demonstrators were pelting rocks and bottles at police.
▷ stone /stəʊn/ [transitive verb]
to throw stones at someone or something, in order to injure or damage them :
▪ During the riot the mob started stoning the British embassy.
stone somebody to death
throw stones at them until they are killed, especially as a punishment
▪ The thieves were caught and sentenced to be stoned to death.
▷ bombard /bɒmˈbɑːʳdǁbɑːm-/ [transitive verb]
to attack someone by throwing large numbers of things at them at the same time :
bombard somebody with something
▪ My brothers bombarded me with snowballs as soon as I stepped out of the house.
▪ When the police tried to advance they were bombarded with petrol bombs.
5. when a sudden force throws someone or something through the air
▷ throw /θrəʊ/ [transitive verb]
throw somebody/something into/off/out of etc something
▪ The blast from the explosion threw debris high up into the air.
▪ I was cycling home when I got hit by a car and thrown off my bike.
▪ A small plane was lifted up and thrown across the tarmac by a freak gust of wind.
▷ send somebody/something flying /ˌsend somebody/something ˈflaɪ-ɪŋ/ [verb phrase]
to make someone or something suddenly move forward or through the air :
▪ He swung round suddenly, sending the papers on his desk flying.
▪ Her foot caught on something on the ground. Whatever it was, it sent her flying.
▷ catapult/propel /ˈkætəpʌlt, prəˈpel/ [transitive verb]
to suddenly push someone or something very hard so that they move extremely quickly through the air :
catapult somebody/something into/over/out of etc something
▪ The car crashed into a tree and the driver was catapulted through the windshield.
▪ I felt myself being propelled into the air by the force of the explosion.
▷ pitch /pɪtʃ/ [transitive verb]
if something such as a strong wind or a sudden movement pitches someone off a boat or a high place, it makes them fall off it :
pitch somebody into/over/out of etc something
▪ A sudden gust of wind pitched him off the ledge and he was left hanging by his safety rope.
▪ Two of the crew were pitched overboard when a big wave hit their ship.
6. to throw something away
▷ throw away also chuck away informal /ˌθrəʊ əˈweɪ, ˌtʃʌk əˈweɪ/ [transitive phrasal verb] British informal :
throw/chuck something away
▪ I’ve thrown his photograph away and I never want to see his face again.
▪ It’s a nice dress. It would be a shame to chuck it away.
▪ To avoid the risk of infection, needles must be used once and then thrown away immediately.
throw/chuck away something
▪ Some employers throw away all incorrectly hand-written applications without even reading them.
▪ In the bin there were a few scraps of food his mum had chucked away.
▷ throw out also chuck out especially British, informal /toss out American informal /ˌθrəʊ ˈaʊt, ˌtʃʌk ˈaʊt, ˌtɒs ˈaʊtǁˌtɔːs-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to get rid of something, especially when you are trying to make a place more tidy or to make space for new things :
throw/chuck/toss something out
▪ You haven’t thrown those magazines out have you?
▪ We chucked a lot of stuff out when we moved house.
throw/chuck/toss out something
▪ She would do nothing for days then spring into action and spend a day throwing out all the garbage, cleaning the bathroom, and dusting.
▪ Why don’t you toss out all those old books. You’ll never want to read them again.
▷ get rid of /get ˈrɪd ɒv/ [verb phrase]
to throw something away, especially something old or dirty :
▪ I think it’s time we got rid of all these old toys.
▪ If you hate that furniture so much why don’t you get rid of it and buy some new stuff.
get rid of something for somebody
▪ Give me the empty bottles -- I’ll get rid of them for you.
▷ toss/chuck /tɒsǁtɔːs, tʃʌk/ [transitive verb] American informal
to get rid of something, especially when you are trying to make a place more tidy or to make room for new things :
▪ If you don’t want any of these shoes, I’m going to toss them.
▪ ‘What should I do with all your old text books?’ ‘Just chuck them out - I’m never going to need them.’
▷ dispose of something /dɪsˈpəʊz əv something/ [transitive verb] formal
to throw away something that you do not want or no longer need, by putting it in a suitable place :
▪ Please dispose of this wrapper carefully.
▪ Nuclear waste can cause serious damage to the environment if not disposed of properly.
disposal [uncountable noun]
▪ This is an incinerator for the disposal of hospital waste, such as used syringes.
▷ discard /dɪsˈkɑːʳd/ [transitive verb] formal
to throw away something that you no longer need, especially by dropping it on the ground or leaving it somewhere you should not :
▪ People who discard their litter in the streets should have to pay heavy fines.
▪ A child had become trapped in a refrigerator discarded in a vacant lot.
discarded [adjective only before noun]
▪ The police believe that the fire was started by a discarded cigarette.
▷ dump /dʌmp/ [transitive verb]
to throw away something dangerous or something no one wants, especially by leaving it in an unsuitable place :
dump something in/into something
▪ People who want to get rid of old cars sometimes dump them in the woods.
▪ Toxic waste is being dumped into the ocean.
▪ The half-burned bodies were dumped in mass graves.
7. designed to be used once and then thrown away
▷ disposable /dɪˈspəʊzəb ə l/ [adjective]
▪ Didn’t you know you can buy disposable contact lenses now?
▪ a disposable toothbrush
▪ disposable nappies