throw out

verb

threw out; thrown out; throwing out; throws out

transitive verb

1

a

: to remove from a place, office, or employment usually in a sudden or unexpected manner

b

: to get rid of as worthless or unnecessary

2

: to give expression to : utter

threw out a remark … that utterly confounded him

—Jean Stafford

3

: to dismiss from acceptance or consideration : reject

the testimony was thrown out

4

: to make visible or manifest : display

the signal was thrown out for the … fleet to prepare for action

—Archibald Duncan

5

: to leave behind : outdistance

6

: to give forth from within : emit

7

a

: to send out

b

: to cause to project : extend

8

: confuse, disconcert

automobiles in line blocking the road … threw the whole schedule out

—F. D. Roosevelt

9

: to cause to stand out : make prominent

10

: to make a throw that enables a teammate to put out (a base runner)

Phrases

throw out the baby with the bathwater

: to discard or lose something useful or beneficial in the process of discarding or rejecting something unwanted

Synonyms

• banish
• boot (out)
• bounce
• cast out
• chase
• dismiss
• drum (out)
• eject
• expel
• extrude
• kick out
• oust
• out
• rout
• run off
• turf (out) [chiefly British]
• turn out

Examples of throw out in a Sentence

the player was thrown out of the game after assaulting the ref

would you mind if I threw out that leftover pizza that's been in the fridge for two weeks?

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump and his co-defendants sought to have several of the 41 indictments thrown out, but Cannon refused. —Annabella Rosciglione, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 June 2024

Administrative Law Judge Juliet Cox sided with the DMV’s lawyer, Greg Call, who argued that the case shouldn’t be thrown out before the DMV has had a chance to introduce its evidence at a hearing later this year. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 11 June 2024

Gerrymandering: The City of Miami unconstitutionally gerrymandered voting districts by race and ethnicity, a federal judge found, throwing out the city’s voting map and rejecting the way city commissioners have tried to hold on to power for more than two decades. —Laura Van Den Berg, New York Times, 11 June 2024

Add the bag or container to the household trash to be thrown out. —Anthea Levi, Health, 9 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

throw out

verb

1

: to reject or get rid of as worthless or unnecessary : throw away

2

: to remove from a place, position, or participation