toss

CEFRB1

/tɒs/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To throw something lightly or carelessly.

  2. 02

    verb

    To move or turn restlessly from side to side.

Examples

  • I usually toss my loose change into my desk drawer.

  • Let's decide by coin toss.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. A haughty throwing up of the head.

  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.

noun

Extra meaning

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

More examples

In context

  • Let's toss up for it.

  • I don't give a toss about her.

  • 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.

Synonyms

Quick test

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She decided to blank the fresh salad with oil and vinegar dressing.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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.