throw back

See also: throwback

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /θɹəʊ ˈbæk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /θɹoʊ ˈbæk/

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To hinder the development of something.
2. (intransitive) To revert to an earlier stage of development.
   • The Century

     A large proportion of the steerage passengers throw back to their Darwinian ancestry.

3. (transitive) To retort.
   • 2011, Delores Haltom, The Stonecutter: How the Word Became Flesh, page 120:

     She jumped to her feet and began stalking away. “Going to cost me fifteen dollars to clean this outfit,” she threw back over her shoulder.

4. (transitive) To drink quickly, especially alcoholic beverages.

   We threw back drinks until the next morning.

   • 2021 July 8, James Patterson, Adam Hamdy, Private Rogue: (Private 16), Random House, →ISBN:

     “He and I used to throw back beers every now and then when I was with the Bureau.” Shaw grinned arrogantly.

5. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw,‎ back.

   I threw back my head and laughed uproariously.

   We caught several fish in the river but threw them back.

   • 2017, Andrew Massie, In the Shadows of My Mind, page 197:

     We all raised our glasses, threw them back. I was getting better, but I still felt the alcohol harder than Stephen ever had.

Related terms

• throwback

Anagrams

• Backworth