Word.ws English Dictionary

throw in

throw in is the alternative form of throw-in.

Verb

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

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, in.
  2. (informal, transitive) To add something extra free of charge.
    • If you take the large size, we'll throw in a set of tea towels.
  3. (informal, transitive) To include in a calculation.
    • Throw in Mr Trump's promise of a "great, great wall along our southern border" - with estimates starting at $12bn - and "massive tax relief for the middle class", and the price tag for his speech proposals is on an express elevator to astronomical.2017 March 1, Anthony Zurcher, “Trump addresses Congress: A kinder, gentler president”, in BBC News
    • There's something special about tidal estuaries, due to the abundance of wildlife and the ever-changing scenes as the water ebbs or rises. Throw in some moody skies and filtered sunlight, and the views can resemble a painting by Turner - only you don't have to go to the National Gallery to see...2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 65
  4. (idiomatic) To quit, to fold.
  5. (archaic, transitive) To inject, as a fluid.

Meaning of throw-in

Noun

throw-in (plural throw-ins)

  1. A set-piece where the ball is thrown back into play
  2. (Australian rules football) A throw of the ball back into play by the boundary umpire. The umpire faces away from the players and throws it in over his or her shoulder (so as to clearly not favour either side by where exactly it's thrown).
  3. (Ireland) the start time of a Gaelic football match, comparable to kick off in other games.
  4. An extra item added free of charge; a product that is thrown in with another.
    • Salesman: Uh, hey, how about a Skinny Scan 27,000 with a Computer Virus Eradicator as a throw-in?1999, Mona the Vampire, "The Nefarious Computer Virus" (season 1, episode 2b)

Forms of throw in

Noun
pluralthrow ins
Verb
third-person singular presentthrows in
present participlethrowing in
pastthrew in
past participlethrown in

Questions about throw in

What does throw in mean?
Throw in means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, in.
What is throw in the alternative form of?
Throw in is the alternative form of throw-in.
What part of speech is throw in?
Throw in is a verb.
What is the past tense of throw in?
The past tense of throw in is threw in.

Words near throw in in the dictionary

  1. throw for a loop
  2. throw gas on the fire
  3. throw gasoline on the fire
  4. throw good money after bad
  5. throw hands
  6. throw in
  7. throw in at the deep end
  8. throw in one's hand
  9. throw in one's lot with
  10. throw in the bark
  11. throw in the cards

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throw in (page history and authors); throw-in (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-throw in.ogg.

Cite this entry: “throw in.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/throw_in. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.