Word.ws English Dictionary

throwing to the dogs

throwing to the dogs is the present participle and gerund of throw to the dogs.

Meaning of throw to the dogs

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To throw away as useless.
    • Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  2. (idiomatic) To remove or cast out someone or something from one's protection, such as into the streets.
  3. (idiomatic) To give up on something valuable.
    • Let's hope it will not throw "to the dogs" its new-found opportunity for winning back public favor and respect.1945, Karl E. Ettinger, Public Relations Directory and Yearbook,, page 45

Questions about throwing to the dogs

What is throwing to the dogs the present participle and gerund of?
Throwing to the dogs is the present participle and gerund of throw to the dogs.

Words near throwing to the dogs in the dictionary

  1. throwing the handkerchief
  2. throwing the hatchet
  3. throwing the rulebook at
  4. throwing them bows
  5. throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks
  6. throwing to the dogs
  7. throwing to the lions
  8. throwing to the winds
  9. throwing to the wolves
  10. throwing together
  11. throwing under a bus

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throwing to the dogs (page history and authors); throw to the dogs (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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