English Explanatory Dictionary

toss

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.
  2. The coin toss before a cricket match in order to decide who bats first, or before a football match in order to decide the direction of play.
  3. A haughty throwing up of the head.
  4. Concern or consideration.
  5. A state of agitation; commotion.
  6. A measure of sprats.
  7. A handover from one presenter to another, announced by the first presenter.
  8. Nonsense; drivel.
  9. An act of masturbation.
verb
  1. To throw with an initial upward direction.
  2. To lift with a sudden or violent motion.
  3. To agitate; to make restless.
  4. To subject to trials; to harass.
  5. To flip a coin, to decide a point of contention.
  6. To discard; to throw away.
  7. To stir or mix (a salad).
  8. To masturbate.
  9. To search (a room or a cell), sometimes leaving visible disorder, as for valuables or evidence of a crime.
  10. To roll and tumble; to be in violent commotion.
  11. To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean, or as a ship in heavy seas.
  12. To keep in play; to tumble over.
noun
  1. plural of TOS

Pronunciation

/tɒs/ /tɔs/ /tɑs/ en-au-toss.ogg

Word forms

toss tosses tossing tossed tost

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.

Synonyms

chuck fling bung cast chunk cook dash dump feck jerk heave hield hoy huck hurl hurtle launch lob peck peg pick pitch precipitate project quoit shy slight skew sling thrill throw toss traject warp whang whip whop wing perturb provoke vex beleaguer beset pester toss out throw out junk 86 bin can cast aside cast off cast away chuck away chuck out discard dispose of ditch get rid of jettison

Derived words

argue the toss basket toss chuck and toss full toss give a toss go for a toss on the toss of a coin pitch and toss ring toss send for a toss toss bombing toss job toss juggling toss of the coin toss pillow toss-up toss a bone to toss a coin toss and turn toss around toss away toss caution to the wind toss down tosser toss in toss in with toss it in toss off toss one's cookies toss one's hat in the ring toss one's hat into the ring toss one's name in the hat tosspot toss salad toss someone a bone toss someone's salad toss the pieman toss together toss to the lions toss to the wind toss up tosticated
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