throw
/θɹəʊ/
"throw" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“throw” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,581. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #1,581
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air.
Corpus desk
Index EN-throw · throw · English
throw · rank #1,581 · 8 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,581
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH surface
Nearest frequency peer: surface (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “throw”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- smart
smart
98,423 corpus weight
- surface
surface
98,421 corpus weight
- throw
throw
98,420 corpus weight
- tom
tom
98,419 corpus weight
- totally
totally
98,418 corpus weight
- twitter
twitter
98,417 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “throw” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | throw |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /θɹəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #1,581 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “throw” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around throw (IPA /θɹəʊ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,581 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 27 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for throw, with forms such as "htrow", "thhrow", and "thorw". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, 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 … The correct English form is throw, spelled T-H-R-O-W.
Definition
- 1To hurl; to release (an object) with some force from one’s hands, an apparatus, etc. so that it moves rapidly through the air.
- 2To eject or cause to fall off.
- 3To move to another position or condition; to displace.
- 4To make (a pot) by shaping clay as it turns on a wheel.
- 5To deliver (the ball) illegally by straightening the bowling arm during delivery.
- 6To send (an error) to an exception-handling mechanism in order to interrupt normal processing.
- 7To intentionally lose a game.
- 8(of a game where one’s role is throwing something) To perform in a specified way in (a match).
- 9To confuse or mislead.
- 10To send hastily or desperately.
- 11To imprison.
- 12To organize an event, especially a party.
- 13To roll (a die or dice).
- 14To cause a certain number on the die or dice to be shown after rolling it.
- 15To discard.
- 16To lift or unbalance one’s opponent and then bring him back down to the ground, especially into a position behind the thrower.
- 17To change (one’s voice) in order to give the illusion that the voice is that of someone else, or coming from a different place.
- 18To show sudden emotion, especially anger.
- 19To project or send forth.
- 20To put on hastily; to spread carelessly.
- 21To 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.
- 22To select (a pitcher); to assign a pitcher to a given role (such as starter or reliever).
- 23To install (a bridge).
- 24To twist or turn.
- 25Synonym of pass.
- 26To deliver.
- 27Of animals: to give birth to (young).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how throw appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
throw a shoe; throw a javelin; the horse threw its rider
When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
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
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of throw - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "throw", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "throw". Here's where to go from here.
- "throw" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "tow". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #1,581 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.