toss

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /tɔs/ UK /tɒs/ See IPA manual

Freq #4648

Meanings

1

verb
To throw something gently or carelessly.

Toss me the ball, I'm open!
2

verb
To mix food lightly, especially a salad.

Toss the salad with a little olive oil.
3

noun
A quick, throwing movement of part of the body.

With a toss of her head, she walked away.
4

noun
The act of throwing something, especially a coin to decide something.

They settled the argument with the toss of a coin.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with toss

toss off Phrasal verb B1

to write something quickly and with apparent ease
toss out Phrasal verb B1

to throw something away or discard it

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to throw something gently... throw

Word family

Forms tossedtossestossingtost

Derived forms toss-uptossertosspottosticated

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Proverbs (1)

See all

When in doubt, throw it out
Matching variant: When in doubt, toss it out

Etymology

From Middle English tossen (“to buffet about, agitate, toss; to sift or winnow”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse (compare dialectal Norwegian tossa, dialectal Swedish tossa (“to strew, spread”)), or perhaps from an alteration of Middle English tosen (“to tease, pull apart, shred; to wound, injure”). Compare also Dutch tassen (“to pile or heap up, stack”). The Welsh tos (“a quick jerk”) and tosio (“to jerk, toss”) are probably borrowed from the English.

tossen Middle English tosen Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# toss

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /tɔs/
**IPA (UK):** /tɒs/
**Frequency rank:** 4648

## Meanings
1. To throw something gently or carelessly.
2. To mix food lightly, especially a salad.
3. A quick, throwing movement of part of the body.
4. The act of throwing something, especially a coin to decide something.

## Examples
- Toss me the ball, I'm open!
- Toss the salad with a little olive oil.
- With a toss of her head, she walked away.
- They settled the argument with the toss of a coin.

## Derived Forms
- toss-up
- tosser
- tosspot
- tosticated

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tossen
- Root: tosen

## Etymology
From Middle English tossen (“to buffet about, agitate, toss; to sift or winnow”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse (compare dialectal Norwegian tossa, dialectal Swedish tossa (“to strew, spread”)), or perhaps from an alteration of Middle English tosen (“to tease, pull apart, shred; to wound, injure”). Compare also Dutch tassen (“to pile or heap up, stack”). The Welsh tos (“a quick jerk”) and tosio (“to jerk, toss”) are probably borrowed from the English.

## AI Etymology
Toss is from Middle English tossen (“to buffet about, agitate, toss; to sift or winnow”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse (compare dialectal Norwegian tossa, dialectal Swedish tossa (“to strew, spread”)), or perhaps from an alteration of Middle English tosen (“to tease, pull apart, shred; to wound, injure”). Compare also Dutch tassen (“to pile or heap up, stack”). The Welsh tos (“a quick jerk”) and tosio (“to jerk, toss”) are probably borrowed from the English. Derived formations include toss-up, tosser, tosspot, tosticated.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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