Word.ws English Dictionary

throw up

throw up verb: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, up. Also the misspelling of throwup.

Verb

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

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, up.
    • Away to the window I flew like a flash,
      Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.1823, Clement Clarke Moore, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
    • The servant (who) had first entered had thrown up the window […]1910, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
  2. (ambitransitive, informal) To vomit.
    • The baby threw up all over my shirt.
    • That cat is always throwing up hairballs.
    Synonyms:
    chuck up, hurl, upchuck, vomit
  3. (transitive) To produce or reveal something new or unexpected.
    • This system has thrown up a few problems.
  4. (transitive) To cause something such as dust or water to rise into the air.
    • The car wheels threw up a shower of stones.
  5. (dated, transitive) To erect, particularly hastily.
    • Every depression in the ground had been utilized; every rise taken advantage of, to dig rifle-pits or throw up a little earthwork, surrounded with sand-bags […]1872, Every Saturday, page 96
    • In other words, a business can throw up a huge detour sign in the way of the government.2001, Diane Kennedy, Loop-Holes of the Rich: How the Rich Legally Make More Money & Pay Less Tax, Warner Books,, →ISBN, page 70
  6. (ambitransitive) To give up, abandon something.
    • “No!” returned the spy. “I throw up. I confess that we were so unpopular with the outrageous mob, that I only got away from England at the risk of being ducked to death, and that Cly was so ferreted up and down, that he never would have got away at all but for that sham. Though how this man knows...1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
    • In 1944, believing, as people in Leeds tended to do, that flying bombs or no flying bombs, things were better Down South, Dad threw up his job with the Co-op and we migrated to Guildford.2011, Alan Bennett, “Baffled at a Bookcase”, in London Review of Books, XXXIII.15
  7. (transitive) To display a gang sign using the hands.
    • Why don't you go on and throw up ya gang sign. Represent your hood, homey?2005, Brandon Bennett, Moon in Gemini, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 56
  8. (dated, transitive) To enlarge, as a picture reflected on a screen.
  9. (obsolete, transitive) To give special prominence to a line or lines.

Interjection

  1. (dismissal) Used as an expression of frustration or to dismiss a conversation partner.
    • "Oh, throw up," thought Rayne. "Don't say they've taken a fancy to each other."2011, Kate Cann, Consumed
    • Oh, throw up. Really? Since when does Hannah need to be rescued by anyone for anything?2018, Hillary Homzie, Apple Pie Promises, Sky Pony Press

Also used as

throw up is also the misspelling of throwup.

throw up meaning in Persian

throw up in Persian

to erect, particularly hastily
راست بودن râst budan, راست ایستادن râst istâdan, شق بودن šaq budan

Examples of throw up in a sentence

  • I wonder what happens if you throw up in zero gravity.1988 September 19, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):
  • The deal was that if anyone started catching feelings, he could throw up a stop sign and the other would honor it.2007, Marissa Monteilh, Dr. Feelgood, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 27:

Synonyms of throw up

All synonyms of throw up

Forms of throw up

Verb
third-person singular presentthrows up
present participlethrowing up
pastthrew up
past participlethrown up
Noun
alternative formthrowup
alternative formthrow-up

Origin of throw up

The vomit sense is a clipping of throw up one's accounts (18th century), from earlier idiom cast up one's accounts (15th century).

Words formed from throw up

Questions about throw up

What does throw up mean?
Throw up means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, up.
What is throw up in Persian?
Throw up in Persian is راست بودن (râst budan), راست ایستادن (râst istâdan), شق بودن (šaq budan). See Throw up meaning in Persian.
How do you use throw up in a sentence?
I wonder what happens if you throw up in zero gravity.
What part of speech is throw up?
Throw up can be a verb or an interjection.
What is the past tense of throw up?
The past tense of throw up is threw up.

Words near throw up in the dictionary

  1. throw to the wolves
  2. throw together
  3. throw true
  4. throw under a bus
  5. throw under the bus
  6. throw up
  7. throw up a brick
  8. throw up one's hands
  9. throw up the sponge
  10. throw up to
  11. throw wobblies

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throw up (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-us-throw up.ogg, en-au-throw up.ogg.

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