cast about

[kast, kahst] Origin

cast

[kast, kahst] verb, cast, cast·ing, noun, adjective
verb (used with object)
1.
to throw or hurl; fling: The gambler cast the dice.
2.
to throw off or away: He cast the advertisement in the wastebasket.
3.
to direct (the eye, a glance, etc.), especially in a cursory manner: She cast her eyes down the page.
4.
to cause to fall upon something or in a certain direction; send forth: to cast a soft light; to cast a spell; to cast doubts.
5.
to draw (lots), as in telling fortunes.
EXPAND
6.
Angling.
a.
to throw out (a fishing line, net, bait, etc.): The fisherman cast his line.
b.
to fish in (a stream, an area, etc.): He has often cast this brook.
7.
to throw down or bring to the ground: She cast herself on the sofa.
8.
to part with; lose: The horse cast a shoe.
9.
to shed or drop (hair, fruit, etc.): The snake cast its skin.
10.
(of an animal) to bring forth (young), especially abortively.
11.
to send off (a swarm), as bees do.
12.
to throw or set aside; discard or reject; dismiss: He cast the problem from his mind.
13.
to throw forth, as from within; emit or eject; vomit.
14.
to throw up (earth, sod, etc.), as with a shovel.
15.
to put or place, especially hastily or forcibly: to cast someone in prison.
16.
to deposit or give (a ballot or vote).
17.
to bestow; confer: to cast blessings upon someone.
18.
to make suitable or accordant; tailor: He cast his remarks to fit the occasion.
19.
Theater.
a.
to select actors for (a play, motion picture, or the like).
b.
to allot a role to (an actor).
c.
to assign an actor to (a role).
20.
to form (an object) by pouring metal, plaster, etc., in a fluid state into a mold and letting it harden.
21.
to form (metal, plaster, etc.) into a particular shape by pouring it into a mold in a fluid state and letting it harden.
22.
to tap (a blast furnace).
23.
to compute or calculate; add, as a column of figures.
24.
to compute or calculate (a horoscope) astrologically; forecast.
25.
to turn or twist; warp.
26.
Nautical. to turn the head of (a vessel), especially away from the wind in getting under way.
27.
Fox Hunting. (of a hunter) to lead or direct (hounds) over ground believed to have been recently traveled by a fox.
28.
Archaic. to contrive, devise, or plan.
29.
Obsolete. to ponder.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
30.
to throw.
31.
to receive form in a mold.
32.
to calculate or add.
33.
to conjecture; forecast.
34.
(of hounds) to search an area for scent: The setter cast, but found no scent.
EXPAND
35.
to warp, as timber.
36.
Nautical. (of a vessel) to turn, especially to get the head away from the wind; tack.
37.
to select the actors for a play, motion picture, or the like.
38.
Obsolete.
a.
to consider.
b.
to plan or scheme.
COLLAPSE

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Cast about is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
noun
39.
act of casting or throwing.
40.
that which is thrown.
41.
the distance to which a thing may be cast or thrown.
42.
Games.
a.
a throw of dice.
b.
the number rolled.
43.
Angling.
a.
act of throwing a line or net onto the water.
b.
a spot for casting; a fishing place.
EXPAND
44.
Theater. the group of performers to whom parts are assigned; players.
45.
Hunting. a searching of an area for a scent by hounds.
46.
a stroke of fortune; fortune or lot.
47.
a ride offered on one's way; lift.
48.
the form in which something is made or written; arrangement.
49.
Metallurgy.
a.
act of casting or founding.
b.
the quantity of metal cast at one time.
50.
something formed from a material poured into a mold in a molten or liquid state; casting.
51.
an impression or mold made from something.
52.
Medicine/Medical. a rigid surgical dressing, usually made of bandage treated with plaster of Paris.
53.
outward form; appearance.
54.
sort; kind; style.
55.
tendency; inclination.
56.
a permanent twist or turn: to have a cast in one's eye.
57.
a warp.
58.
a slight tinge of some color; hue; shade: A good diamond does not have a yellowish cast.
59.
a dash or trace; a small amount.
60.
computation; calculation; addition.
61.
a conjecture; forecast.
62.
Zoology. something that is shed, ejected, or cast off or out, as molted skin, a feather, food from a bird's crop, or the coil of sand and waste passed by certain earthworms.
63.
Ornithology. pellet (def. 6).
64.
Falconry. a pair of hawks put in flight together.
65.
Pathology. effused plastic matter produced in the hollow parts of various diseased organs.
66.
low-grade, irregular wool.
COLLAPSE
adjective
67.
(of an animal, especially a horse) lying in such a position that it is unable to return to its feet without assistance.
68.
cast about,
a.
to look, as to find something; search; seek: We cast about for something to do during the approaching summer vacation.
b.
to scheme; plan: He cast about how he could avoid work.
69.
cast away,
a.
Also, cast aside. to reject; discard.
b.
to shipwreck.
c.
to throw away; squander: He will cast away this money just as he has done in the past.
70.
cast back, to refer to something past; revert to: The composer casts back to his earlier work.
71.
cast down, to lower; humble.
72.
cast off,
a.
to discard; reject.
b.
to let go or let loose, as a vessel from a mooring.
c.
Printing. to determine the quantity of type or space that a given amount of text will occupy when set.
d.
Textiles. to make (the final stitches) in completing a knitted fabric.
e.
to throw (a falcon) off from the fist to pursue game.
EXPAND
73.
cast on, Textiles. to set (yarn) on a needle in order to form the initial stitches in knitting.
74.
cast out, to force out; expel; eject.
75.
cast up,
a.
to add up; compute.
b.
to vomit; eject.
c.
Chiefly Scot. to turn up; appear.
COLLAPSE
76.
at a single cast, through a single action or event: He bankrupted himself at a single cast.

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English casten < Old Norse kasta to throw

cast·a·ble, adjective
cast·a·bil·i·ty, noun
sub·cast, noun
un·cast, adjective
well-cast, adjective

cast, caste, class.


1. See throw. 55. See turn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To cast about
Collins
World English Dictionary
cast about or cast around
 
vb
(intr, adverb) to make a mental or visual search: to cast about for an idea for a book
 
cast around or cast around
 
vb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cast
c.1230, from O.N. kasta "to throw." The noun sense of "a throw" (c.1300) carried an idea of the form the thing takes after it has been thrown, which led to varied meanings, such as "group of actors in a play" (1631). OED finds 42 distinct noun meaning and 83 verbal ones, with many sub-definitions. A
EXPAND
cast in the eye preserves the older sense of "warp, turn," in which it replaced O.E. weorpan (see warp), and is itself largely superseded now by throw. Still used of fishing line and glances.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

cast (kāst)
n.

  1. An object formed by the solidification of molten liquid poured into an impression or mold, as in a dental cast of the maxillary or mandibular arch.

  2. A rigid dressing, usually made of gauze and plaster of Paris, used to immobilize an injured, fractured, or dislocated body part, as in a fracture or dislocation. Also called plaster cast.

  3. A mass of fibrous material, coagulated protein, or exudate that has taken the form of the cavity in which it has been molded, such as the bronchial, renal, intestinal, or vaginal cavity, and that is found histologically as well as in urine or sputum samples.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

cast about

  1. Also, cast around. Seek, make a search, as in We cast about for the necessary tools, but couldn't find them in the garage. [Late 1600s]

  2. Devise means, contrive, as in They cast about for new ways to increase revenue. This usage was first recorded in 1867.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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