throw down

verb

threw down; thrown down; throwing down; throws down

transitive verb

1

: to cause to fall : overthrow

2

: precipitate

3

: to cast off : discard

4

: to make (a slam dunk) with exceptional force

Synonyms of throw down

• throw
• drop

Examples of throw down in a Sentence

throw down the gun, and put your hands up

Recent Examples on the Web

During a collision, gas clouds could be thrown down toward each galaxy’s center and ultimately fall into decaying orbits around each awaiting black hole, forming huge disks there that would become extremely hot and potentially extremely bright. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 May 2026

Even more hilariously, 54 percent of Democrats went as far as presuming that even an 8-year-old boy could throw down his lunchbox and get the job done. —Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026

That’s a player throwing down the gauntlet to everybody else’. —George Caulkin, New York Times, 16 May 2026

The whole thing seemed to go south rapidly, with a 6 AM deadline thrown down as a marker. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for throw down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown