Word.ws English Dictionary

throw the book at

throw the book at verb: to charge with or convict of as many crimes as possible.

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To charge with or convict of as many crimes as possible.
    • COURT THROWS BOOK AT HIM: ... Thomas Pasco, beggar, got everything the statutes would permit Judge Binkle to give him yesterday afternoon.1903 September 9, “COURT THROWS BOOK AT HIM”, in Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, page 5
  2. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To apply the harshest possible punishment to.
    • [C]riminals ... dreaded to be brought into his court, as a conviction meant a severe sentence. As one criminal expressed it to another, "The judge throws the book at you."1897 December 12, “Light Sentences for Criminals”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle, WA, page 16
    • The judge, not weeping any, throws the book at him, which means he gives Bob the limit.1926, Will James, Cowboys north and south, page 95
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, the, book, at.

Synonyms of throw the book at

Forms of throw the book at

third-person singular presentthrows the book at
present participlethrowing the book at
pastthrew the book at
past participlethrown the book at

Origin of throw the book at

From the metaphor of a large book, containing all the possible laws broken or punishments for a particular crime, being thrown at an offender. Attested since at least 1897.

Questions about throw the book at

What does throw the book at mean?
Throw the book at means to charge with or convict of as many crimes as possible.
What part of speech is throw the book at?
Throw the book at is a verb.
What is the past tense of throw the book at?
The past tense of throw the book at is threw the book at.

Words near throw the book at in the dictionary

  1. throw stones
  2. throw stones in a glass house
  3. throw tantrums
  4. throw the baby out with the bath water
  5. throw the baby out with the bathwater
  6. throw the book at
  7. throw the bull
  8. throw the bull around
  9. throw the handkerchief
  10. throw the hatchet
  11. throw the rulebook at

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throw the book at (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: En-au-throw the book at.ogg.

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