cast
[ kast, kahst ]
/ kæst, kɑst /
verb (used with object), cast, cast·ing.
to throw or hurl; fling: The gambler cast the dice.
to throw off or away: He cast the advertisement in the wastebasket.
to direct (the eye, a glance, etc.), especially in a cursory manner: She cast her eyes down the page.
to cause to fall upon something or in a certain direction; send forth: to cast a soft light; to cast a spell; to cast doubts.
to draw (lots), as in telling fortunes.
Angling.
- to throw out (a fishing line, net, bait, etc.): The fisherman cast his line.
- to fish in (a stream, an area, etc.): He has often cast this brook.
to throw down or bring to the ground: She cast herself on the sofa.
to part with; lose: The horse cast a shoe.
to shed or drop (hair, fruit, etc.): The snake cast its skin.
(of an animal) to bring forth (young), especially abortively.
to send off (a swarm), as bees do.
to throw or set aside; discard or reject; dismiss: He cast the problem from his mind.
to throw forth, as from within; emit or eject; vomit.
to throw up (earth, sod, etc.), as with a shovel.
to put or place, especially hastily or forcibly: to cast someone in prison.
to deposit or give (a ballot or vote).
to bestow; confer: to cast blessings upon someone.
to make suitable or accordant; tailor: He cast his remarks to fit the occasion.
Theater.
- to select actors for (a play, motion picture, or the like).
- to allot a role to (an actor).
- to assign an actor to (a role).
to form (an object) by pouring metal, plaster, etc., in a fluid state into a mold and letting it harden.
to form (metal, plaster, etc.) into a particular shape by pouring it into a mold in a fluid state and letting it harden.
to tap (a blast furnace).
to compute or calculate; add, as a column of figures.
to compute or calculate (a horoscope) astrologically; forecast.
to turn or twist; warp.
Nautical.
to turn the head of (a vessel), especially away from the wind in getting under way.
Fox Hunting.
(of a hunter) to lead or direct (hounds) over ground believed to have been recently traveled by a fox.
Archaic.
to contrive, devise, or plan.
Obsolete.
to ponder.
verb (used without object), cast, cast·ing.
to throw.
to receive form in a mold.
to calculate or add.
to conjecture; forecast.
(of hounds) to search an area for scent: The setter cast, but found no scent.
to warp, as timber.
Nautical.
(of a vessel) to turn, especially to get the head away from the wind; tack.
to select the actors for a play, motion picture, or the like.
Obsolete.
- to consider.
- to plan or scheme.
noun
act of casting or throwing.
that which is thrown.
the distance to which a thing may be cast or thrown.
Games.
- a throw of dice.
- the number rolled.
Angling.
- act of throwing a line or net onto the water.
- a spot for casting a fishing line; a fishing place.
Theater.
the group of performers to whom parts are assigned; players.
Hunting.
a searching of an area for a scent by hounds.
a stroke of fortune; fortune or lot.
a ride offered on one's way; lift.
the form in which something is made or written; arrangement.
Metallurgy.
- act of casting or founding.
- the quantity of metal cast at one time.
something formed from a material poured into a mold in a molten or liquid state; casting.
an impression or mold made from something.
Medicine/Medical.
a rigid surgical dressing, usually made of bandage treated with plaster of Paris.
outward form; appearance.
sort; kind; style.
tendency; inclination.
a permanent twist or turn: to have a cast in one's eye.
a warp.
a slight tinge of some color; hue; shade: A good diamond does not have a yellowish cast.
a dash or trace; a small amount.
computation; calculation; addition.
a conjecture; forecast.
Zoology.
something that is shed, ejected, or cast off or out, as molted skin, a feather, food from a bird's crop, or the coil of sand and waste passed by certain earthworms.
Ornithology.
pellet(def 6).
Falconry.
a pair of hawks put in flight together.
Pathology.
effused plastic matter produced in the hollow parts of various diseased organs.
low-grade, irregular wool.
adjective
(of an animal, especially a horse) lying in such a position that it is unable to return to its feet without assistance.
Verb Phrases
cast about,
- to look, as to find something; search; seek: We cast about for something to do during the approaching summer vacation.
- to scheme; plan: He cast about how he could avoid work.
cast away,
- Also cast aside. to reject; discard.
- to shipwreck.
- to throw away; squander: He will cast away this money just as he has done in the past.
cast back,
to refer to something past; revert to: The composer casts back to his earlier work.
cast down,
to lower; humble.
cast off,
- to discard; reject.
- to let go or let loose, as a vessel from a mooring.
- Printing. to determine the quantity of type or space that a given amount of text will occupy when set.
- Textiles. to make (the final stitches) in completing a knitted fabric.
- to throw (a falcon) off from the fist to pursue game.
cast on, Textiles.
to set (yarn) on a needle in order to form the initial stitches in knitting.
cast out,
to force out; expel; eject.
cast up,
- to add up; compute.
- to vomit; eject.
- Chiefly Scot. to turn up; appear.
Idioms for cast
at a single cast,
through a single action or event: He bankrupted himself at a single cast.
Origin of cast
1175–1225; Middle English
casten < Old Norse
kasta to throw
OTHER WORDS FROM cast
cast·a·ble, adjective
cast·a·bil·i·ty, noun
sub·cast, noun
un·cast, adjective
well-cast, adjective
Words nearby cast
casson,
cassone,
cassoulet,
cassowary,
casspir,
cast,
cast about,
cast adrift,
cast away,
cast back,
cast brace
Definition for cast (2 of 2)
die cast
or die-cast
verb (used with object)
to shape or form by die casting.
Origin of die cast
First recorded in 1905–10
Example sentences from the Web for cast
As the months passed and she began to cast the film, I became increasingly excited.
It cast this pall over the movie, which was one of my favorites of last year.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange |Marlow Stern |December 27, 2014 |DAILY BEASTHe cast her as Hope, an ex-addict with an impressive pair of fake chompers—the result of years of drug abuse.
Jena Malone’s Long, Strange Trip From Homelessness to Hollywood Stardom |Marlow Stern |December 22, 2014 |DAILY BEASTAs part of their ambitious film schedule, Marvel has cast British actor Benedict Cumberbatch to play the doctor in 2016.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician |Rich Goldstein |December 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Today, Sunday, the cast will perform a softened, “autism-friendly” version of the production for those on the spectrum.
Without looking up, or changing his tone, he asked the child if she had had a fall since the cast had been changed.
An American Suffragette |Isaac N. StevensThey were kept at hand constantly for any light they might cast on difficult passages.
The Greatest English Classic |Cleland Boyd McAfeeThe resolution directed the Chairman to cast the vote in the negative.
A Report of the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention |Lucius Eugene ChittendenHe ruined us—us who were so happy before; and then, as Armand says, cast us away as instruments he had done with.
The Parisians, Complete |Edward Bulwer-LyttonSham Rao cast a furtive, timid look round him; and his voice, when he answered our questions, was somewhat tremulous.
From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan |Helena Pretrovna Blavatsky
British Dictionary definitions for cast
cast
/ (kɑːst) /
verb casts, casting or cast (mainly tr)
to throw or expel with violence or force
to throw off or away
she cast her clothes to the ground
to reject or dismiss
he cast the idea from his mind
to shed or drop
the snake cast its skin; the horse cast a shoe; the ship cast anchor
be cast NZ
(of a sheep) to have fallen and been unable to rise
to cause to appear
to cast a shadow
to express (doubts, suspicions, etc) or cause (them) to be felt
to direct (a glance, attention, etc)
cast your eye over this
to place, esp in a violent manner
he was cast into prison
(also intr) angling
to throw (a line) into the water
to draw or choose (lots)
to give or deposit (a vote)
to select (actors) to play parts in (a play, film, etc)
- to shape (molten metal, glass, etc) by pouring or pressing it into a mould
- to make (an object) by such a process
(also intr often foll by up)
to compute (figures or a total)
to predict
the old woman cast my fortune
astrology
to draw on (a horoscope) details concerning the positions of the planets in the signs of the zodiac at a particular time for interpretation in terms of human characteristics, behaviour,
to contrive (esp in the phrase cast a spell)
to formulate
he cast his work in the form of a chart
(also intr)
to twist or cause to twist
(also intr) nautical
to turn the head of (a sailing vessel) or (of a sailing vessel) to be turned away from the wind in getting under way
hunting
to direct (a pack of hounds) over (ground) where their quarry may recently have passed
(intr)
(of birds of prey) to eject from the crop and bill a pellet consisting of the indigestible parts of birds or animals previously eaten
falconry
to hold the body of a hawk between the hands so as to perform some operation upon it
printing
to stereotype or electrotype
cast in one's lot with or throw in one's lot with
to share in the activities or fortunes of (someone else)
noun
the act of casting or throwing
- Also called: casting something that is shed, dropped, or egested, such as the coil of earth left by an earthworm
- another name for pellet (def. 4)
an object that is thrown
the distance an object is or may be thrown
- a throw at dice
- the resulting number shown
angling
- a trace with a fly or flies attached
- the act or an instance of casting
the wide sweep made by a sheepdog to get behind a flock of sheep or by a hunting dog in search of a scent
- the actors in a play collectively
- (as modifier)a cast list
- an object made of metal, glass, etc, that has been shaped in a molten state by being poured or pressed into a mould
- the mould used to shape such an object
form or appearance
sort, kind, or style
a fixed twist or defect, esp in the eye
a distortion of shape
surgery
a rigid encircling casing, often made of plaster of Paris, for immobilizing broken bones while they heal
pathol
a mass of fatty, waxy, cellular, or other material formed in a diseased body cavity, passage, etc
the act of casting a pack of hounds
falconry
a pair of falcons working in combination to pursue the same quarry
archery
the speed imparted to an arrow by a particular bow
a slight tinge or trace, as of colour
a computation or calculation
a forecast or conjecture
fortune or a stroke of fate
palaeontol
a replica of an organic object made of nonorganic material, esp a lump of sediment that indicates the internal or external surface of a shell or skeleton
palaeontol
a sedimentary structure representing the infilling of a mark or depression in a soft layer of sediment (or bed)
Word Origin for cast
C13: from Old Norse
kasta
Medical definitions for cast
cast
[ kăst ]
n.
An object formed by the solidification of molten liquid poured into an impression or mold, as in a dental cast of the maxillary or mandibular arch.
A rigid dressing, usually made of gauze and plaster of Paris, used to immobilize an injured, fractured, or dislocated body part, as in a fracture or dislocation.
plaster cast
A mass of fibrous material, coagulated protein, or exudate that has taken the form of the cavity in which it has been molded, such as the bronchial, renal, intestinal, or vaginal cavity, and that is found histologically as well as in urine or sputum samples.
Idioms and Phrases with cast
cast
In addition to the idioms beginning with cast
- cast about
- cast adrift
- cast away
- cast doubt on
- cast down
- cast in one's lot
- cast in stone
- cast in the same mold
- castles in the air
- cast loose
- cast off
- cast on
- cast one's lot with
- cast out
- cast pearls before swine
- cast the first stone
also see:
- die is cast