/ θrəʊ; NAmE θroʊ/ verb , noun
■ verb
( threw / θruː; NAmE /, thrown / θrəʊn; NAmE θroʊn/)
WITH HAND
1.
to send sth from your hand through the air by moving your hand or arm quickly :
[ vn ]
Stop throwing stones at the window!
She threw the ball up and caught it again.
Don't throw it to him, give it to him!
[ vnn ]
Can you throw me that towel?
[ v ]
They had a competition to see who could throw the furthest.
PUT CARELESSLY
2.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to put sth in a particular place quickly and carelessly :
Just throw your bag down over there.
MOVE WITH FORCE
3.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to move sth suddenly and with force :
[ vn ]
The boat was thrown onto the rocks.
The sea throws up all sorts of debris on the beach.
[ vn - adj ]
I threw open the windows to let the smoke out.
PART OF BODY
4.
[ vn ] to move your body or part of it quickly or suddenly :
He threw back his head and roared with laughter.
I ran up and threw my arms around him.
Jenny threw herself onto the bed.
MAKE SB FALL
5.
[ vn ] to make sb fall quickly or violently to the ground :
Two riders were thrown (= off their horses) in the second race.
INTO PARTICULAR STATE
6.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] [ usually passive ] to make sb/sth be in a particular state :
Hundreds were thrown out of work.
We were thrown into confusion by the news.
The problem was suddenly thrown into sharp focus.
DIRECT STH AT SB / STH
7.
[ vn ] to direct sth at sb/sth :
to throw doubt on the verdict
to throw the blame on someone
to throw accusations at someone
He threw the question back at me (= expected me to answer it myself) .
UPSET
8.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to make sb feel upset, confused, or surprised :
The news of her death really threw me.
DICE
9.
[ vn ] to roll a dice or let it fall after shaking it; to obtain a particular number in this way :
Throw the dice!
He threw three sixes in a row.
CLAY POT
10.
[ vn ] ( technical ) to make a clay pot, dish, etc. on a potter's wheel :
a hand-thrown vase
LIGHT / SHADE
11.
[ vn ] to send light or shade onto sth :
The trees threw long shadows across the lawn.
YOUR VOICE
12.
[ vn ] throw your voice to make your voice sound as if it is coming from another person or place
SYN project
A PUNCH
13.
[ vn ] throw a punch to hit sb with your fist
SWITCH / HANDLE
14.
[ vn ] to move a switch, handle, etc. to operate sth
BAD-TEMPERED BEHAVIOUR
15.
[ vn ] to have a sudden period of bad-tempered behaviour, violent emotion, etc. :
She'll throw a fit if she finds out.
Children often throw tantrums at this age.
A PARTY
16.
[ vn ] throw a party ( informal ) to give a party
IN SPORTS / COMPETITIONS
17.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to deliberately lose a game or contest that you should have won :
He was accused of having thrown the game.
•
IDIOMS
Idioms containing throw are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example throw your hat into the ring is at hat .
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- throw sth aside
- throw yourself at sth/sb
- throw sth away
- throw sth back at sb
- throw sb back on sth
- throw sth in
- throw yourself / sth into sth
- throw sth/sb off
- throw sth on
- throw sth open (to sb)
- throw sb out (of ... )
- throw sth out
- throw sb over
- throw sb together
- throw sth together
- throw up
- throw sth up
■ noun
1.
the act of throwing sth, especially a ball or dice :
a well-aimed throw
It's your throw (= it's your turn to throw the dice ) .
He threw me to the ground with a judo throw.
2.
the distance which sth is thrown :
a javelin throw of 57 metres
3.
a loose cloth cover that can be thrown over a sofa , etc.
•
IDIOMS
- $100, £50, etc. a throw
—more at stone noun
••
SYNONYMS
throw
toss ♦ hurl ♦ fling ♦ chuck ♦ lob ♦ bowl ♦ pitch
All these words mean to send sth from your hand through the air.
throw
to send sth from your hand or hands through the air:
Some kids were throwing stones at the window.
•
She threw the ball and he caught it.
toss
to throw sth lightly or carelessly:
She tossed her jacket onto the bed.
hurl
to throw sth violently in a particular direction:
Rioters hurled a brick through the car's windscreen.
fling
to throw sb/sth somewhere with a lot of force, especially because you are angry or in a hurry:
She flung the letter down onto the table.
chuck
( especially BrE informal ) to throw sth carelessly:
I chucked him the keys.
lob
( informal ) to throw sth so that it goes high through the air:
They were lobbing stones over the wall.
bowl
(in cricket) to throw the ball to the batsman
pitch
(in baseball) to throw the ball to the batter
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to throw / toss / hurl / fling / chuck / lob / bowl / pitch sth at / to sb/sth
to throw / toss / fling / chuck / lob sb sth
to throw / toss / hurl / fling / chuck sth aside / away
to throw / toss / hurl / fling / chuck / lob / bowl / pitch a ball
to throw / toss / hurl / fling / chuck / lob stones / a brick
to throw / toss / hurl / fling sth angrily
to throw / toss / fling / chuck sth casually / carelessly
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English thrāwan to twist, turn , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch draaien and German drehen , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin terere to rub, Greek teirein wear out. The current senses which express propulsion and sudden action, date from Middle English .