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

• barf
• gag
• heave
• hurl
• puke
• retch
• spew
• spit up
• upchuck
• vomit

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

However, too much of anything is not a good thing, and excess cortisol can throw up a number of issues. —Morgan Fargo, Vogue, 24 June 2025

The site was visibly blackened by the degree of rubble thrown up by the strikes. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 23 June 2025

With the Reds’ Nick Martinez on the mound with two outs and a 3-1 count to the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado, Martinez stepped off the mound as De La Cruz walked into the outfield and threw up. —C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 21 June 2025

In March, the high school senior was throwing up constantly. —Wendy Grossman Kantor, People.com, 17 June 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