Skip to main content
PlainSpell

toss

/tɔs/noun, verb

toss is spelled T-O-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, toss means “A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of toss is tosses.

How many letters and syllables are in toss?

Letters4: T-O-S-S
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing8.1 times per million words; the 8,146th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is toss?

Toss appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce toss?

  • UK /tɒs/
  • US /tɔs/
  • /tɑs/

Toss has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-toss.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with toss?

7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as toss from its last stressed vowel (/ɔs/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of toss

  • tosses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • tossing participle, present
  • tossed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does toss mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.

  2. 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. 3

    A haughty throwing up of the head.

  4. 4

    BritishslangConcern or consideration.

    I don't give a toss about her.

  5. 5

    BritishslangA state of agitation; commotion.

  6. 6

    A measure of sprats.

  7. 7

    A handover from one presenter to another, announced by the first presenter.

    The introduction would still be done by the Monitor host in New York's Studio 5B, followed by the toss to the newsperson in Washington.

  8. 8

    UKslangNonsense; drivel.

verb

  1. 1

    To throw with an initial upward direction.

    Toss it over here!

  2. 2

    To lift with a sudden or violent motion.

    to toss the head

  3. 3

    To agitate; to make restless.

  4. 4

    To subject to trials; to harass.

  5. 5

    To flip a coin, to decide a point of contention.

    We should toss for it.

  6. 6

    informalTo discard; to throw away.

    I don't need it any more; you can just toss it.

  7. 7

    To stir or mix (a salad).

    to toss a salad; a tossed salad.

  8. 8

    UKslangTo masturbate.

noun

as TOSs
  1. 1

    plural of TOS (a form of TOS)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Toss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchjet, lancer (throw, a lob, of a ball), au pile ou face, tirage au sort, pile ou face (toss of a coin before a match), tirer à pile ou face (to flip a coin)
GermanWurf (throw, a lob, of a ball), Münzwurf (toss of a coin before a match), werfen (to throw with an initial upward direction), verwerfen, wegwerfen (to discard), vermischen (to stir or mix (a salad))
Portuguesearremesso (throw, a lob, of a ball), lançamento, moeda ao ar (toss of a coin before a match), jogar, arremessar, tacar (to throw with an initial upward direction)
Spanishtiro, lanzamiento, tirada (throw, a lob, of a ball), volado, sorteo (toss of a coin before a match), lanzar (to throw with an initial upward direction)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does toss come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after toss