casting away

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.
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.
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.
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.
00:10
Casting away is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
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.
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.
adjective
67.
(of an animal, especially a horse) lying in such a position that it is unable to return to its feet without assistance.
Verb phrases
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.
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.
Idioms
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

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

Can be confused: cast, caste, class.

Synonyms
1. See throw. 55. See turn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To casting away
Collins
World English Dictionary
cast (kɑːst) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (often foll by up) , casts, casting, cast
1.  to throw or expel with violence or force
2.  to throw off or away: she cast her clothes to the ground
3.  to reject or dismiss: he cast the idea from his mind
4.  to shed or drop: the snake cast its skin; the horse cast a shoe; the ship cast anchor
5.  (NZ) be cast (of a sheep) to have fallen and been unable to rise
6.  to cause to appear: to cast a shadow
7.  to express (doubts, suspicions, etc) or cause (them) to be felt
8.  to direct (a glance, attention, etc): cast your eye over this
9.  to place, esp in a violent manner: he was cast into prison
10.  (also intr) angling to throw (a line) into the water
11.  to draw or choose (lots)
12.  to give or deposit (a vote)
13.  to select (actors) to play parts in (a play, film, etc)
14.  a.  to shape (molten metal, glass, etc) by pouring or pressing it into a mould
 b.  to make (an object) by such a process
15.  to compute (figures or a total)
16.  to predict: the old woman cast my fortune
17.  astrology to draw on (a horoscope) details concerning the positions of the planets in the signs of the zodiac at a particular time for interpretation in terms of human characteristics, behaviour,
18.  to contrive (esp in the phrase cast a spell)
19.  to formulate: he cast his work in the form of a chart
20.  (also intr) to twist or cause to twist
21.  (also intr) nautical to turn the head of (a sailing vessel) or (of a sailing vessel) to be turned away from the wind in getting under way
22.  hunting to direct (a pack of hounds) over (ground) where their quarry may recently have passed
23.  (intr) (of birds of prey) to eject from the crop and bill a pellet consisting of the indigestible parts of birds or animals previously eaten
24.  falconry to hold the body of a hawk between the hands so as to perform some operation upon it
25.  printing to stereotype or electrotype
26.  cast in one's lot with, throw in one's lot with to share in the activities or fortunes of (someone else)
 
—n
27.  the act of casting or throwing
28.  a.  Also called: casting something that is shed, dropped, or egested, such as the coil of earth left by an earthworm
 b.  another name for pellet
29.  an object that is thrown
30.  the distance an object is or may be thrown
31.  a.  a throw at dice
 b.  the resulting number shown
32.  angling
 a.  a trace with a fly or flies attached
 b.  the act or an instance of casting
33.  the wide sweep made by a sheepdog to get behind a flock of sheep or by a hunting dog in search of a scent
34.  a.  the actors in a play collectively
 b.  (as modifier): a cast list
35.  a.  an object made of metal, glass, etc, that has been shaped in a molten state by being poured or pressed into a mould
 b.  the mould used to shape such an object
36.  form or appearance
37.  sort, kind, or style
38.  a fixed twist or defect, esp in the eye
39.  a distortion of shape
40.  surgery a rigid encircling casing, often made of plaster of Paris, for immobilizing broken bones while they heal
41.  pathol a mass of fatty, waxy, cellular, or other material formed in a diseased body cavity, passage, etc
42.  the act of casting a pack of hounds
43.  falconry a pair of falcons working in combination to pursue the same quarry
44.  archery the speed imparted to an arrow by a particular bow
45.  a slight tinge or trace, as of colour
46.  a computation or calculation
47.  a forecast or conjecture
48.  fortune or a stroke of fate
49.  palaeontol a replica of an organic object made of nonorganic material, esp a lump of sediment that indicates the internal or external surface of a shell or skeleton
50.  palaeontol a sedimentary structure representing the infilling of a mark or depression in a soft layer of sediment (or bed)
 
[C13: from Old Norse kasta]

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
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.
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.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
cast
broadcast
CAST
Center for Applied Special Technology
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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