[cast] vb cast ; cast.ing [ME, fr. ON kasta; akin to ON kos heap] vt (13c) 1 a: to cause to move or send forth by throwing "~ a fishing lure" "~ dice" b: direct "~ a glance" c (1): to put forth "the fire ~s a warm glow" (2): to place as if by throwing "~ doubt on their reliability" d: to deposit (a ballot) formally e (1): to throw off or away "the horse ~ a shoe" (2): to get rid of: discard "~ off all restraint" (3): shed, molt (4): to bring forth; esp: to give birth to prematurely f: to throw to the ground esp. in wrestling g: to build by throwing up earth
2. a (1): to perform arithmetical operations on: add (2): to calculate by means of astrology b archaic: decide, intend 3 a: to dispose or arrange into parts or into a suitable form or order b (1): to assign the parts of (a dramatic production) to actors (2): to assign (as an actor) to a role or part
4. a: to give a shape to (a substance) by pouring in liquid or plastic form into a mold and letting harden without pressure "~ steel" b: to form by this process
5: turn "~ the scale slightly"
6: to make (a knot or stitch) by looping or catching up 7: twist, warp "a beam ~ by age" ~ vi 1: to throw something; specif: to throw out a lure with a fishing rod
2. dial Brit: vomit 3 dial Eng: to bear fruit: yield
4. a: to perform addition b obs: estimate, conjecture
5: warp
6: to range over land in search of a trail--used of hunting dogs or trackers 7: veer syn see discard, throw -- cast.abil.i.ty n -- cast.able adj -- cast lots : to draw lots to determine a matter by chance
[2]cast n (14c) 1 a: an act of casting b: something that happens as a result of chance c: a throw of dice d: a throw of a line (as a fishing line) or net
2. a: the form in which a thing is constructed b (1): the set of actors in a dramatic production (2): a set (as in a narrative) of characters or persons c: the arrangement of draperies in a painting
3: the distance to which a thing can be thrown; specif: the distance a bow can shoot
4. a: a turning of the eye in a particular direction; also: expression "this freakish, elfish ~ came into the child's eye --Nathaniel Hawthorne" b: a slight strabismus
5: something that is thrown or the quantity thrown; esp, Brit: the leader of a fishing line
6. a: something that is formed by casting in a mold or form: as (1): a reproduction (as of a statue) in metal or plaster: casting (2): a fossil reproduction of the details of a natural object by mineral infiltration b: an impression taken from an object with a liquid or plastic substance: mold c: a rigid dressing of gauze impregnated with plaster of paris for immobilizing a diseased or broken part 7: forecast, conjecture
8. a: an overspread of a color or modification of the appearance of a substance by a trace of some added hue: shade "gray with a greenish ~" b: tinge, suggestion
9. a: a ride on one's way in a vehicle: lift b Scot: help, assistance
10. a: shape, appearance "the delicate ~ of her features" b: characteristic quality "his father's conservative ~ of mind" 11: something that is shed, ejected, or thrown out or off: as a: the excrement of an earthworm b: a mass of soft matter formed in cavities of diseased organs and discharged from the body c: the skin of an insect 12: the ranging in search of a trail by a dog, hunting pack, or tracker