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

Phrases

throw up one's hands

: to admit defeat

in the end throws up his hands in despair

—Frank Conroy

Synonyms

• 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

Paul’s increasingly bad decisions throw up a smoke screen around that growth, minutes before the story closes the arc of Turner’s self-destructive bereavement. —Andy Crump, Time, 20 July 2025

In addition, the team posted a promo video featuring a graffiti artists throwing up a mural announcing the news with Snoop providing the voiceover. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 18 July 2025

My nightmare scenario did happen: One of the cats threw up a hairball directly on the velvet. —Malia Griggs, Architectural Digest, 17 July 2025

The Club World Club also threw up an unexpected problem for Alonso to deal with — the absence of Kylian Mbappe through illness for the entire group stage. —Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 11 July 2025

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