free throw

noun

: an unhindered shot in basketball made from behind a set line and awarded because of a foul by an opponent

Examples of free throw in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sacramento staged a 14-5 run to go up by 12 on two free throws by DeRozan early in the second half. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 16 Mar. 2026

Utah State sharpened its game, the Aztecs erred too often, on both offense and defense, and the Aggies — yes, assisted by an officiating mistake that led to a pair of free throws — ran away to a 72-63 victory. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026

Landry Shamet made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to give the Knicks a 108-105 lead. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026

Brown, who also sat out the teams’ first meeting, scored 18 of the Celtics’ 25 fourth-quarter points, with four of the outliers coming on free throws by Tatum and Pritchard in the final 10 seconds. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for free throw

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

free throw

noun

: a basketball shot worth one point that must be made from behind a specific line and is given because of a foul by an opponent