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toss

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To throw with an initial upward direction.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

taws
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɔs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. To throw with an initial upward direction.

  2. Throw carelessly

  3. informaltransitive

    To discard; to throw away.

  4. Move or stir about violently

  5. To stir or mix (a salad).

  6. intransitive

    To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean, or as a ship in heavy seas.

noun

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

  2. A haughty throwing up of the head.

  3. Billingsgate Fish Market slang

    A measure of sprats.

  4. ukslanguncountable

    Nonsense; drivel.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To throw with an initial upward direction.

Used this way, toss is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

coin tosstoss welltoss gentlysecond toss

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • toss bombingnounCompound term

    A bombing run in which the bomber approaches the target at a low altitude and pulls up just before releasing the bomb.

  • toss inverbCompound term

    Add casually to a conversation.

  • toss offverbCompound term

    Write quickly.

  • toss outverbCompound term

    Throw or cast away.

  • toss-upnounCompound term

    An unpredictable phenomenon.

  • tossed saladnounCompound term

    Salad tossed with a dressing.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: throw or a lob

thrash

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.