throw away

See also: throwaway and throw-away

English

Etymology

From throw + away. First attested in the late 14c.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Australia):(file)

Verb

throw away (third-person singular simple present throws away, present participle throwing away, simple past threw away, past participle thrown away)

  1. (transitive) To discard (trash, garbage, or the like), to toss out, to put in the trash. [from 1520s]
    Synonym: see at discard
    He wanted to throw away the cup, but he couldn't find a trash can.
    Don't throw the newspaper away, it goes in the recycle bin!
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To waste, to squander.
    Voting for a third-party candidate sometimes feels like throwing your vote away.
    The team threw away its chance at the semifinals.
    • 1975, Freddie Mercury, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (song), in Queen (band), A Night at the Opera (album):
      Mama, life has just begun. / But now I've gone and thrown it all away.
    • 2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1 - 1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport‎[1], archived from the original on 4 March 2026:
      Chelsea threw away two points when substitute Salomon Kalou gifted Valencia a penalty five minutes from time with a needless handball.
  3. (American football, slang) To intentionally throw an incomplete pass.
  4. (idiomatic) To give lightly, in an offhand manner.
    • 2017 August 13, Brandon Nowalk, “Oldtown offers one last game-changing secret as Game Of Thrones goes behind enemy lines (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club‎[2], archived from the original on 17 August 2017:
      As Gilly plays sitcom wife, reading aloud from a book while Sam tries to read his own across the table, she throws away a line about someone named Maynard once having annulled the marriage of someone named Prince Raggar and remarrying him in the same ceremony in Dorne.

Derived terms

Translations

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