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throw

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "throw", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "throw" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "throw" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

throw is aEnglishverb. It means: To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air. Pronounced /θɹəʊ/. It ranks #1,581 in English word frequency. Often confused with tow and Troy.

Key facts for throw
PropertyValue
Headwordthrow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/θɹəʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,581
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of throw in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for throw is 5 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /θɹəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,581 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 27 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for throw, with forms such as "htrow", "thhrow", and "thorw". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tow", "Troy", "thru", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is throw, spelled T-H-R-O-W, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air.
  2. 2
    To eject or cause to fall off.
  3. 3
    To move to another position or condition; to displace.
  4. 4
    To make (a pot) by shaping clay as it turns on a wheel.
  5. 5
    To deliver (the ball) illegally by straightening the bowling arm during delivery.
  6. 6
    To send (an error) to an exception-handling mechanism in order to interrupt normal processing.
  7. 7
    To intentionally lose a game.
  8. 8
    (of a game where one’s role is throwing something) To perform in a specified way in (a match).
  9. 9
    To confuse or mislead.
  10. 10
    To send hastily or desperately.
  11. 11
    To imprison.
  12. 12
    To organize an event, especially a party.
  13. 13
    To roll (a die or dice).
  14. 14
    To cause a certain number on the die or dice to be shown after rolling it.
  15. 15
    To discard.
  16. 16
    To lift or unbalance one’s opponent and then bring him back down to the ground, especially into a position behind the thrower.
  17. 17
    To change (one’s voice) in order to give the illusion that the voice is that of someone else, or coming from a different place.
  18. 18
    To show sudden emotion, especially anger.
  19. 19
    To project or send forth.
  20. 20
    To put on hastily; to spread carelessly.
  21. 21
    To twist two or more filaments of (silk, etc.) so as to form one thread; to twist together, as singles, in a direction contrary to the twist of the singles themselves; sometimes applied to the whole class of operations by which silk is prepared for the weaver.
  22. 22
    To select (a pitcher); to assign a pitcher to a given role (such as starter or reliever).
  23. 23
    To install (a bridge).
  24. 24
    To twist or turn.
  25. 25
    Synonym of pass.
  26. 26
    To deliver.
  27. 27
    Of animals: to give birth to (young).

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.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: htrow,thhrow,thorw,throww,thrrow,thrwo,trhow,tthrow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for throw

Misspelling Variants of "throw"

htrow5thhrow6thorw5throww6thrrow6thrwo5trhow5tthrow6
Misspelling Variants of "throw"

Frequency rank: #1,581 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "throw"?
"throw" is spelled T-H-R-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /θɹəʊ/.
What does "throw" mean?
As a verb, "throw" means: To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air.
What words are commonly confused with "throw"?
"throw" is commonly confused with "tow", "Troy", "thru". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "throw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "throw" is /θɹəʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "throw"?
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 w... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter T in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.