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Webster 1913 Edition

Toss

Toss

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tossed
; (less properly
Tost
);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Tossing
.]
[ W.
tosiaw
,
tosio
, to jerk, toss, snatch,
tos
a quick jerk, a toss, a snatch. ]
1.
To throw with the hand; especially, to throw with the palm of the hand upward, or to throw upward;
as, to
toss
a ball
.
2.
To lift or throw up with a sudden or violent motion;
as, to
toss
the head
.
He
tossed
his arm aloft, and proudly told me,
He would not stay.
Addison.
3.
To cause to rise and fall;
as, a ship
tossed
on the waves in a storm
.
We being exceedingly
tossed
with a tempest.
Act xxvii. 18.
4.
To agitate; to make restless.
Calm region once,
And full of peace, now
tossed
and turbulent.
Milton.
5.
Hence, to try; to harass.
Whom devils fly, thus is he
tossed
of men.
Herbert.
6.
To keep in play; to tumble over;
as, to spend four years in
tossing
the rules of grammar
.
[Obs.]
Ascham.
To toss off
,
(a)
to drink hastily.
(b)
to accomplish easily or quickly.
(c)
to say in an offhand manner;
as, to
toss off
a comment
.
(d)
to masturbate; – British slang.
–
To toss the cars
.
See under Oar,
Noun.

Toss

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To roll and tumble; to be in violent commotion; to write; to fling.
To
toss
and fling, and to be restless, only frets and enrages our pain.
Tillotson.
2.
To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean.
Shak.
To toss for
,
to throw dice or a coin to determine the possession of; to gamble for.
–
To toss up
,
to throw a coin into the air, and wager on which side it will fall, or determine a question by its fall.
Bramsion.

Toss

,
Noun.
1.
A throwing upward, or with a jerk; the act of tossing;
as, the
toss
of a ball
.
2.
A throwing up of the head; a particular manner of raising the head with a jerk.
Swift.

Webster 1828 Edition

Toss

TOSS

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. tossed or tost.
1.
To throw with the hand; particularly, to throw with the palm of the hand upward, or to throw upward; as, to toss a ball.
2.
To throw with violence.
3.
To lift or throw up with a sudden or violent motion; as, to toss the head; or to toss up the head.
He toss'd his arm aloft.
4.
To cause to rise and fall; as, to be tossed on the waves.
We, being exceedingly tossed with a tempest-- Acts 27.
5.
To move one way and the other. Prov.21.
6.
To agitate; to make restless.
Calm region once,
And full of peace, now tost and turbulent.
7.
To keep in play; to tumble over; as, to spend four years in tossing the rules of grammar.

TOSS

,
Verb.
I.
To fling; to roll and tumble; to writhe; to be in violent commotion.
To toss and fling, and to be restless, only frets and enrages our pain.
1.
To be tossed.
To toss up, is to throw a coin into the air and wager on what side it will fall.

TOSS

,
Noun.
A throwing upward or with a jerk; the act of tossing; as the toss of a ball.
1.
A throwing up of the head; a particular manner of raising the head with a jerk. It is much applied to horses, and may be applied to an affected manner of raising the head in men.

Definition 2024

toss

toss

See also: tos, TOS, tôs, tös, tøs, and t-os

English

Noun

toss ‎(plural tosses)

  1. A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.
  2. (cricket, soccer) The toss of a coin 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. (Britain, slang) A jot, in the phrase 'give a toss'.
    I couldn't give a toss about her.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

toss ‎(third-person singular simple present tosses, present participle tossing, simple past and past participle tossed or (obsolete) tost)

  1. To throw with an initial upward direction.
    Toss it over here!
  2. To lift with a sudden or violent motion.
    to toss the head
    • Addison
      He tossed his arm aloft, and proudly told me, / He would not stay.
  3. To agitate; to make restless.
    • Milton
      Calm region once, / And full of peace, now tossed and turbulent.
  4. To subject to trials; to harass.
    • Herbert
      Whom devils fly, thus is he tossed of men.
  5. To flip a coin, to decide a point of contention.
    I'll toss you for it.
  6. To discard: to toss out
    I don't need it anymore, you can just toss it.
  7. To stir or mix (a salad).
    to toss a salad; a tossed salad.
  8. (Britain, slang) To ****
  9. (transitive, informal) To search (a room or a cell), sometimes leaving visible disorder, as for valuables or evidence of a crime.
    "Someone tossed just his living room and bedroom." / "They probably found what they were looking for."
    • 2003, Joseph Wambaugh, Fire Lover, p. 258:
      John Orr had occasion to complain in writing to the senior supervisor that his Playboy and Penthouse magazines had been stolen by deputies. And he believed that was what prompted a random search of his cell for contraband. He was stripped, handcuffed, and forced to watch as they tossed his cell.
    • 2009, Thomas Harris, Red Dragon:
      Rankin and Willingham, when they tossed his cell, they took Polaroids so they could get everything back in place.
    • 2011, Linda Howard, Kill and Tell: A Novel:
      Hayes had watched him toss a room before. He had tapped walls, gotten down on his hands and knees and studied the floor, inspected books and lamps and bric-abrac.
  10. (intransitive) To roll and tumble; to be in violent commotion.
    tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep
  11. (intransitive) To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean, or as a ship in heavy seas.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  12. (obsolete) To keep in play; to tumble over.
    to spend four years in tossing the rules of grammar
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ascham to this entry?)
  13. (rowing) To peak (the oars), to lift them from the rowlocks and hold them perpendicularly, the handle resting on the bottom of the boat.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

Pronunciation

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