Idioms for throw

Origin of throw

before 1000; Middle English throwen, thrawen (v.), Old English thrāwan to twist, turn; cognate with Dutch draaien, German drehen to turn, spin, twirl, whirl; akin to Latin terere, Greek teírein to rub away

SYNONYMS FOR throw

1 fling, launch, send. Throw, cast, pitch, toss imply projecting something through the air. Throw is the general word, often used with an adverb that indicates direction, destination, etc.: to throw a rope to someone, the paper away. Cast is a formal word for throw, archaic except as used in certain idiomatic expressions ( to cast a net, black looks; cast down; the compound broadcast, etc.): to cast off a boat. Pitch implies throwing with some force and definite aim: to pitch a baseball. To toss is to throw lightly, as with an underhand or sidewise motion, or to move irregularly up and down or back and forth: to toss a bone to a dog.

OTHER WORDS FROM throw

mis·throw, verb, mis·threw, mis·thrown, mis·throw·ing.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH throw

throe throw

British Dictionary definitions for throw off (1 of 2)

throw off

verb (mainly tr, adverb)

to free oneself of; discard
to produce or utter in a casual manner to throw off a witty remark
to escape from or elude the fox rapidly threw off his pursuers
to confuse or disconcert the interruption threw the young pianist off
(intr, often foll by at) Australian and NZ informal to deride or ridicule

British Dictionary definitions for throw off (2 of 2)

throw
/ (θrəʊ) /

verb throws, throwing, threw or thrown (mainly tr)

noun

Derived forms of throw

thrower, noun

Word Origin for throw

Old English thrāwan to turn, torment; related to Old High German drāen to twist, Latin terere to rub

Idioms and Phrases with throw off (1 of 2)

throw off

1

Cast out, rid oneself of, as in He threw off all unpleasant memories and went to the reunion. [Early 1600s]

2

Give off, emit, as in The garbage was throwing off an awful smell. [First half of 1700s] Also see throw out, def. 1.

3

Also, throw or put off the scent. Distract, divert, or mislead, as in A mistaken estimate threw off her calculations, or These clues were designed to throw the detective off the scent. The variant comes from hunting, where the quarry may try to put pursuing hounds off the scent. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s. Also see off the track.

4

Perform in a quick, spontaneous, or casual manner, as in He threw off one sketch after another. [Mid-1700s]

Idioms and Phrases with throw off (2 of 2)

throw