What does "throe" mean?
A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die.
Throe
/θɹəʊ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die.
- Grammar: throe is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: agony, anguish, crisis, hurt.
- Useful contrasts: calm, comfort, ease.
- Usage evidence: O man haue mind of that laſt bitter throw; / For as the tree does fall, ſo lyes it euer low.
How to use "throe"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "throe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "throe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "throe" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die. error-lua-exec
"O man haue mind of that laſt bitter throw; / For as the tree does fall, ſo lyes it euer low."
- 2 Synonym of froe (“a cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood”). obsolete
- 3 severe spasm of pain wordnet
- 4 A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die.; The pain of labour or childbirth; the suffering of death. error-lua-exec, plural-normally
"As if their own indignant earth, / Which gave the sons of England birth, / Had felt their blood upon her brow, / And shuddering with a mother's throe, / Had turned every drop of blood, / By which her face had been bedewed / To an accent unwithstood, / As if her heart had cried aloud: […]"
- 5 hard or painful trouble or struggle wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Any severe pang or spasm, especially an outburst of feeling; a paroxysm.
"Commend me to them, / And tell them, that to eaſe them of their greefes, / Their feares of Hoſtile ſtrokes, their Aches loſſes, / Their pangs of Loue, with other incident throwes / That Natures fragile Veſſell doth ſuſtaine / In lifes vncertaine voyage, I will ſome kindnes do them, […]"
- 7 A hard struggle, especially one associated with the beginning or finishing of a task. figuratively, plural-normally
"Of the group, Max (Room’s Jacob Tremblay) is the most nominally mature, at least biologically speaking; unlike his childhood companions, he’s entered the early throes of puberty, and spends a lot of his waking hours pining, rather chastely, for a classmate (Millie Davis)."
Verb
- 1 To cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony. obsolete, transitive
"Pre-thee ſay on, / The ſetting of thine eye, and cheeke proclaime / A matter from thee; and a birth, indeed, / Which throwes thee much to yeeld."
- 2 To feel throes; to struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize. intransitive, obsolete
"[W]hile yet he gazed at the wonderful countenance, his memory began to throe and struggle."
Example
"O man haue mind of that laſt bitter throw; / For as the tree does fall, ſo lyes it euer low."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "throe"?
Common synonyms include: agony, anguish, crisis, hurt, misery, pang.
How do you use "throe" in a sentence?
O man haue mind of that laſt bitter throw; / For as the tree does fall, ſo lyes it euer low.
How do you pronounce "throe"?
Pronounced /θɹəʊ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is probably derived partly: * from Middle English throu, throwe (“(chiefly in the plural) uterine contraction during the birth of a child; pain experienced while giving birth; suffering; a pain; emotional distress, anxiety”) [and other forms], perhaps from: ** Old English þrawu (rare), a variant of þrēa (“affliction, torment; disaster; oppression; a rebuke; severity; threat”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrau, from Proto-Germanic *þrawō (“longing; suffering”), from Proto-Indo-European *trewh₁-; and ** Old English þrōwian (“to endure, suffer”), from Proto-Germanic *þrōwijaną, probably from *þrawō (see above); and ** Old Norse þrá (“longing, yearning”), from Proto-Germanic *þrawō (see above); and * from Middle English throuen (“to endure distress, suffer; to be ill, to have a fever; to suffer (death, hardship, illness, punishment, etc.); to endure (sadness, hard work, etc.)”) [and other forms], from Old English þrōwian (see above). The current spelling of the word is a 16th-century variant of Middle English throu, throwe, perhaps to avoid confusion with throw (“act of turning or twisting; fit of bad temper or peevishness; look of anger, bad temper, irritation, etc., a grimace”). The verb is derived: * from the noun; and * perhaps from Middle English throuen (verb) (see above).
Etymology 2
Perhaps a variant of froe.