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toss

Pronunciation: /tɒs/

The English word “toss” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.
  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.
  3. A haughty throwing up of the head.
  4. Concern or consideration.
  5. A state of agitation; commotion.
  6. A measure of sprats.
  7. A handover from one presenter to another, announced by the first presenter.
  8. Nonsense; drivel.
  9. An act of masturbation.

verb

  1. To throw with an initial upward direction.
  2. To lift with a sudden or violent motion.
  3. To agitate; to make restless.
  4. To subject to trials; to harass.
  5. To flip a coin, to decide a point of contention.
  6. To discard; to throw away.
  7. To stir or mix (a salad).
  8. To masturbate.
  9. To search (a room or a cell), sometimes leaving visible disorder, as for valuables or evidence of a crime.
  10. To roll and tumble; to be in violent commotion.
  11. To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean, or as a ship in heavy seas.

Etymology

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…

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