throw

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of throwing (propelling something with a rapid movement of the arm and wrist)

   the catcher made a good throw to second base

2. 2
   noun

   casting an object in order to determine an outcome randomly

   I risked my fortune on a throw of the dice.

3. 3
   noun

   a single chance or instance

   I couldn't afford $50 a throw.

4. 4
   verb

   propel through the air

   throw a frisbee

5. 5
   verb

   To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air.

   throw a shoe; throw a javelin; the horse threw its rider

6. 6
   verb

   To eject or cause to fall off.

   There the snake throws her enamelled skin.

7. 7
   verb

   To move to another position or condition; to displace.

   throw the switch

8. 8
   verb

   To make (a pot) by shaping clay as it turns on a wheel.

   Through practice, you’ll learn how to add the right amount of water as you throw a pot, and your fingers will feel when the pot has reached the proper thickness.

Etymology

From Middle English throwen, thrawen, from Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to twist, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn”). Cognate with Scots thraw (“to twist, turn, throw”), West Frisian triuwe (“to push”), Dutch draaien (“to turn”), Low German draien, dreien (“to turn (in a lathe)”), German drehen (“to turn”). Displaced warp as the word for hurling and was displaced by warp as the word for twisting.