What does "toss" mean?
A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.
Toss
/tɒs/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.
- Grammar: toss is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: flip, agitate, agonize, ball kinetic energy.
- Useful contrasts: catch, decide by calculation, determine by deliberation.
- Usage evidence: I don't know which dress to choose; it's a toss up between the red one and the green one.
How to use "toss"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "toss" 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 "toss" 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
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "toss" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "toss" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "toss" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "flip" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "toss", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care. countable, uncountable
- 2 plural of TOS form-of, plural
- 3 (sports) the act of throwing the ball to another member of your team wordnet
- 4 The coin toss before a cricket match in order to decide who bats first, or before a football match in order to decide the direction of play. countable, uncountable
- 5 an abrupt movement wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A haughty throwing up of the head. countable, uncountable
- 7 the act of flipping a coin wordnet
- 8 Concern or consideration. British, countable, slang, uncountable
"I don't give a toss about her."
- 9 A state of agitation; commotion. British, countable, slang, uncountable
"This put us at the board into a Tosse."
- 10 A measure of sprats. countable, uncountable
"It will differ from the heaped measure of oysters, improperly called the peck, by about one-seventh part in excess, and from the toss of sprats by about one-third part in excess."
- 11 A handover from one presenter to another, announced by the first presenter. countable, uncountable
"The introduction would still be done by the Monitor host in New York's Studio 5B, followed by the toss to the newsperson in Washington."
- 12 Nonsense; drivel. UK, slang, uncountable
"Then I look again at this message. What a load of toss."
- 13 An act of masturbation. UK, countable, uncountable, vulgar
"And Uncle Frank is having a wank, And Auntie Floss is having a toss, With Grandad."
Verb
- 1 To throw with an initial upward direction.
"Toss it over here!"
- 2 agitate wordnet
- 3 To lift with a sudden or violent motion.
"to toss the head"
- 4 throw or toss with a light motion wordnet
- 5 To agitate; to make restless.
"Calm region once, And full of peace, now tossed and turbulent."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 throw carelessly wordnet
- 7 To subject to trials; to harass.
"Whom devils fly, thus is he tossed of men."
- 8 move or stir about violently wordnet
- 9 To flip a coin, to decide a point of contention.
"We should toss for it."
- 10 lightly throw to see which side comes up wordnet
- 11 To discard; to throw away. informal, transitive
"I don't need it any more; you can just toss it."
- 12 throw or cast away wordnet
- 13 To stir or mix (a salad).
"to toss a salad; a tossed salad."
- 14 To masturbate. UK, slang
- 15 To search (a room or a cell), sometimes leaving visible disorder, as for valuables or evidence of a crime. informal, transitive
"John Orr had occasion to complain in writing to the senior supervisor that his Playboy and Penthouse magazines had been stolen by deputies. And he believed that was what prompted a random search of his cell for contraband. He was stripped, handcuffed, and forced to watch as they tossed his cell."
- 16 To roll and tumble; to be in violent commotion. intransitive
"tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep"
- 17 To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean, or as a ship in heavy seas. intransitive
"Even now did the sea toss up upon our shore"
- 18 To keep in play; to tumble over. obsolete
"spend four or fiue yeares, in tossing all the rules of Grammer in common scholes"
- 19 To peak (the oars), to lift them from the rowlocks and hold them perpendicularly, the handle resting on the bottom of the boat.
- 20 To drink in large draughts; to gulp. UK, slang
"Their modest stole, to garish looser weed, Deck'd with love-favours their late whoredoms' meed: And where they wont sip of the simple flood, Now toss they bowls of Bacchus' boiling blood,"
- 21 To vomit. slang, usually
Example
"I don't know which dress to choose; it's a toss up between the red one and the green one."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "toss"?
Common synonyms include: flip, agitate, agonize, ball kinetic energy, bandied, bandy.
How do you use "toss" in a sentence?
I don't know which dress to choose; it's a toss up between the red one and the green one.
How do you pronounce "toss"?
Pronounced /tɒs/.
Etymology
From Middle English tossen (“to buffet about, agitate, toss; to sift or winnow”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse (compare dialectal Norwegian tossa, dialectal Swedish tossa (“to strew, spread”)), or perhaps from an alteration of Middle English tosen (“to tease, pull apart, shred; to wound, injure”). Compare also Dutch tassen (“to pile or heap up, stack”). The Welsh tos (“a quick jerk”) and tosio (“to jerk, toss”) are probably borrowed from the English.