to send something through the air with a quick movement of your arm and hand
The boy threw the ball over the fence.
Please don’t throw stones at the window.
✦ Old English ‘þrāwan’ meaning ‘to twist, turn’, later shifting to the idea of ‘hurl’ in Middle English.
an act of throwing something or the distance something is thrown
Her first throw traveled over sixty meters.
The pitcher’s last throw was a perfect strike.
✦ From the verb ‘throw’, used as a nominalization meaning ‘an act of throwing’.
a light blanket, often decorative, used for extra warmth or decoration on a sofa or bed
She draped a soft gray throw over the back of the couch.
The colorful woven throw brightened up the bed.
✦ Named for being something that can be ‘thrown’ or casually placed over furniture or oneself.
to confuse, surprise, or unsettle someone so they do not know what to do
Her unexpected question threw me during the interview.
The sudden change in schedule threw the whole team.
✦ Figurative use of the physical sense ‘to hurl’, first recorded in the 1600s, comparing mental state to being cast off balance.
