Word.ws English Dictionary

throwing down the gauntlet

throwing down the gauntlet is the present participle and gerund of throw down the gauntlet.

Meaning of throw down the gauntlet

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

Questions about throwing down the gauntlet

What is throwing down the gauntlet the present participle and gerund of?
Throwing down the gauntlet is the present participle and gerund of throw down the gauntlet.

Words near throwing down the gauntlet in the dictionary

  1. throwing BBs
  2. throwing by
  3. throwing caution to the wind
  4. throwing cold water on
  5. throwing down
  6. throwing down the gauntlet
  7. throwing dust in someone's eyes
  8. throwing for a loop
  9. throwing gas on the fire
  10. throwing gasoline on the fire
  11. throwing good money after bad

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throwing down the gauntlet (page history and authors); throw down the gauntlet (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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