throw down

verb

threw down; thrown down; throwing down; throws down
Synonyms of throw downnext

transitive verb

1
: to cause to fall : overthrow
2
: precipitate
3
: to cast off : discard
4
: to make (a slam dunk) with exceptional force

Synonyms of throw down

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of throw down in a Sentence

throw down the gun, and put your hands up
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Count seats against your guest list, then throw down floor cushions or a blanket pile instead of dragging in extra chairs. — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 President Penn and her husband Todd (Whitford) get to throw down now and then, as a husband who already feels emasculated has to sit and watch his wife recede into bitter militance. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026 The Commanders were left stunned, as Quinn threw down his headset on the sideline knowing that his team should be 2-3 instead of 1-3-1. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 After Cook scored the tiebreaking touchdown, Stafford completed six of seven throws down to the Buffalo 1, where the Rams eschewed a timeout so Williams could punch it in. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for throw down

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of throw down was in the 13th century

Rhymes for throw down

See All Rhymes for throw down

Browse Nearby Words

throw-crook
throw down
throw down the gauntlet
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Throw down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throw%20down. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All