throw up

verb

threw up; thrown up; throwing up; throws up

intransitive verb

: vomit

transitive verb

1

: vomit

2

: to raise quickly

3

: to build hurriedly

new houses thrown up almost overnight

4

: give up, quit

… the urge … to throw up all intellectual work …

—Norman Mailer

5

: to bring forth : produce

6

: to make distinct especially by contrast : cause to stand out

7

: to mention repeatedly by way of reproach

see also:

throw up one's hands

Synonyms of throw up

• vomit
• hurl

Examples of throw up in a Sentence

she must have eaten something that didn't agree with her because she threw up right after dinner

when the townspeople realized that the President's motorcade would be coming through on its way to the conference, they threw up a hasty “Welcome” sign

Recent Examples on the Web

The Portage, Michigan, native threw up his hands in disbelief after Hamlin bumped him from the pole at his home track. —ABC News, 6 June 2026

Clark throws up, then goes off Fever star Caitlin Clark looked particularly fatigued during certain stretches and threw up at halftime. —James Boyd, New York Times, 5 June 2026

Some of the victims who ingested the salt threw up, collapsed in their parents' arms, or were found unresponsive in bed, hotel rooms and vehicles, prosecutors said, Reuters reports. —Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026

The right-hander pitched like a vet, throwing up zeros in the second, third and fourth, but Arvada West couldn’t get to Raiders junior pitcher Mikey Kroll. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 30 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Rhymes for throw up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

throw up

verb

1

: to build or raise hurriedly or quickly

threw up the window

2

: to give up : quit

just wanted to throw the whole thing up

3

: vomit entry 2 sense 1

Medical Definition

throw up

intransitive verb

ˌthrō-ˈəp 

: vomit