Word.ws English Dictionary

throw down the gauntlet

throw down the gauntlet verb: to issue a challenge.

Verb

throw down the gauntlet (third-person singular simple present throws down the gauntlet, present participle throwing down the gauntlet, simple past threw down the gauntlet, past participle thrown down the gauntlet)

  1. (idiomatic) To issue a challenge.
    • We might as well dispute with Dimock on a Coronation Day, as argue with these Writers. They strut, vapour, throw down the Gauntlet, and defy us to take it up.1730, Caleb d' Anvers (Nicholas Amhurst), The Craftsman, volume 7, page 91

throw down the gauntlet meaning in Bengali and Indonesian

throw down the gauntlet in Bengali

একটি চ্যালেঞ্জ ছুড়ে দেওয়া

throw down the gauntlet in Indonesian

issue a challenge
mengajukan tantangan, menantang

Forms of throw down the gauntlet

third-person singular presentthrows down the gauntlet
present participlethrowing down the gauntlet
pastthrew down the gauntlet
past participlethrown down the gauntlet
alternative formthrow down the gantlet

Origin of throw down the gauntlet

From the late medieval custom symbolizing a challenge, in French jeter le gant which nowadays usually means to give up after having tried hard (leaving the challenge to any takers). The English phrase dates to the 1540s (figurative use by the 18th century).

Words formed from throw down the gauntlet

Questions about throw down the gauntlet

What does throw down the gauntlet mean?
Throw down the gauntlet means to issue a challenge.
What is throw down the gauntlet in Bengali?
Throw down the gauntlet in Bengali is একটি চ্যালেঞ্জ ছুড়ে দেওয়া. See Throw down the gauntlet meaning in Bengali.
What part of speech is throw down the gauntlet?
Throw down the gauntlet is a verb.
What is the past tense of throw down the gauntlet?
The past tense of throw down the gauntlet is threw down the gauntlet.

Words near throw down the gauntlet in the dictionary

  1. throw dirt
  2. throw dirt enough, and some will stick
  3. throw dirt on
  4. throw down
  5. throw down one's tools
  6. throw down the gauntlet
  7. throw dust in someone's eyes
  8. throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick
  9. throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick
  10. throw everything at the wall and see what sticks
  11. throw for a loop

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throw down the gauntlet (page history and authors); throw down the gauntlet (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-throw down the gauntlet.wav.

Cite this entry: “throw down the gauntlet.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/throw_down_the_gauntlet. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.