Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

throwback

 - 5 dictionary results
Throwback at Amazon
Save up to 50% on Sports & More. Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com/fanshop
Find the Latest Kicks
Get Thrillist's free daily emails and find the latest Shoes
Thrillist.com

throw⋅back

  [throh-bak]
Use throwback in a Sentence
–noun
1. an act of throwing back.
2. a setback or check.
3. the reversion to an ancestral or earlier type or character; atavism.
4. an example of this.
Origin:
1855–60; 1915–20 for def. 3; n. use of v. phrase throw back
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To throwback
Throwback at Amazon
Save up to 50% on Sports & More. Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com/fanshop
Find the Latest Kicks
Get Thrillist's free daily emails and find the latest Shoes
Thrillist.com
at·a·vism   (āt'ə-vĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.

  2. An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback.

  3. The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.


[French atavisme, from Latin atavus, ancestor : atta, father + avus, grandfather; see awo- in Indo-European roots.]
at'a·vist n., at'a·vis'tic adj., at'a·vis'ti·cal·ly adv.
throw·back   (thrō'bāk')   
n.  

  1. A reversion to a former type or ancestral characteristic.

  2. See atavism.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

throwback 
"revision to an ancestral type or character," 1888, from throw (v.) + back (adv.); earlier it meant "a reverse in a course or progress, a relapse" (1856).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: throw·back
Pronunciation: 'thrO-"bak
Function: noun
1 : reversion to an earlier type or phase : ATAVISM
2 : an instance or product of atavistic reversion
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see throwback on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way