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

He is set to be sentenced on Sept. 18 if his pending effort to get the conviction thrown out fails. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 17 July 2024

The Baltimore School for the Arts graduate began her day Saturday by throwing out the first pitch in the Orioles’ game against the New York Yankees. —Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 17 July 2024

And in 2019, the D.C. Circuit, citing those cases, threw out a challenge to Mueller’s appointment on the same grounds as those being pressed by Trump’s lawyers before Cannon. —Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 15 July 2024

Hampson tried to go first to third but he was thrown out on a great throw by Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 14 July 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