cast

[ kast, kahst ]

verb (used with object)

, cast, cast·ing.

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.
   1. to throw out (a fishing line, net, bait, etc.):

      The fisherman cast his line.

   2. 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 (skin, antlers, 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.
    1. to select actors for (a play, motion picture, or the like).
    2. to allot a role to (an actor).
    3. 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)

, cast, cast·ing.

1. to throw.
2. to receive form in a mold.
3. to calculate or add.
4. to conjecture; forecast.
5. (of hounds) to search an area for scent:

   The setter cast, but found no scent.

6. to warp, as timber.
7. Nautical. (of a vessel) to turn, especially to get the head away from the wind; tack.
8. to select the actors for a play, motion picture, or the like.
9. Obsolete.
   1. to consider.
   2. to plan or scheme.

noun

1. act of casting or throwing.
2. that which is thrown.
3. the distance to which a thing may be cast or thrown.
4. Games.
   1. a throw of dice.
   2. the number rolled.
5. Angling.
   1. act of throwing a line or net onto the water.
   2. a spot for casting a fishing line; a fishing place.
6. Theater. the group of performers to whom parts are assigned; players.
7. Hunting. a searching of an area for a scent by hounds.
8. a stroke of fortune; fortune or lot.
9. a ride offered on one's way; lift.
10. the form in which something is made or written; arrangement.
11. Metallurgy.
    1. act of casting or founding.
    2. the quantity of metal cast at one time.
12. something formed from a material poured into a mold in a molten or liquid state; casting.
13. an impression or mold made from something.
14. Medicine/Medical. a rigid surgical dressing, usually made of bandage treated with plaster of Paris.
15. outward form; shape; appearance.
16. (of people) distinctive sort, type, or character; mold; stamp:

    The bars were teeming with twenty-somethings of the trust-fund hipster cast. He modeled himself after the cast of his piano teacher, who was an exemplar of self-discipline.

17. tendency; inclination.
18. a permanent twist or turn:

    to have a cast in one's eye.

19. a warp.
20. a slight tinge of some color; hue; shade:

    A good diamond does not have a yellowish cast.

21. a dash or trace; a small amount.
22. Mathematics. computation; calculation; addition.
23. a prediction; forecast.
24. 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.
25. Ornithology. pellet ( def 6 ).
26. Falconry. a pair of hawks put in flight together.
27. Pathology. effused plastic matter produced in the hollow parts of various diseased organs.
28. low-grade, irregular wool.

adjective

1. (of an animal, especially a horse) lying in such a position that it is unable to return to its feet without assistance.

verb phrase

1. 1. to add up; compute.
   2. to vomit; eject.
   3. Chiefly Scot. to turn up; appear.
2. 1. to look, as to find something; search; seek:

      We cast about for something to do during the approaching summer vacation.

   2. to scheme; plan:

      He cast about how he could avoid work.

3. to refer to something past; revert to:

   The composer casts back to his earlier work.

4. castoff ( def ).
5. 1. Also cast aside. to reject; discard.
   2. to shipwreck.
   3. to throw away; squander:

      He will cast away this money just as he has done in the past.

6. Knitting. to set (yarn) on a needle in order to form the initial stitches in knitting.
7. to lower; humble.
8. to force out; expel; eject.

cast

/ kɑːst /

verb

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. 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. 1. to shape (molten metal, glass, etc) by pouring or pressing it into a mould
    2. to make (an object) by such a process
15. also introften foll byup 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 or throw in one's lot with
    to share in the activities or fortunes of (someone else)

noun

1. the act of casting or throwing
2. 1. Also calledcasting something that is shed, dropped, or egested, such as the coil of earth left by an earthworm
   2. another name for pellet
3. an object that is thrown
4. the distance an object is or may be thrown
5. 1. a throw at dice
   2. the resulting number shown
6. angling
   1. a trace with a fly or flies attached
   2. the act or an instance of casting
7. the wide sweep made by a sheepdog to get behind a flock of sheep or by a hunting dog in search of a scent
8. 1. the actors in a play collectively
   2. ( as modifier )

      a cast list

9. 1. an object made of metal, glass, etc, that has been shaped in a molten state by being poured or pressed into a mould
   2. the mould used to shape such an object
10. form or appearance
11. sort, kind, or style
12. a fixed twist or defect, esp in the eye
13. a distortion of shape
14. surgery a rigid encircling casing, often made of plaster of Paris, for immobilizing broken bones while they heal
15. pathol a mass of fatty, waxy, cellular, or other material formed in a diseased body cavity, passage, etc
16. the act of casting a pack of hounds
17. falconry a pair of falcons working in combination to pursue the same quarry
18. archery the speed imparted to an arrow by a particular bow
19. a slight tinge or trace, as of colour
20. a computation or calculation
21. a forecast or conjecture
22. fortune or a stroke of fate
23. 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
24. palaeontol a sedimentary structure representing the infilling of a mark or depression in a soft layer of sediment (or bed)

Other Words From

• cast·a·ble adjective
• cast·a·bil·i·ty [kast-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
• sub·cast noun
• un·cast adjective
• well-cast adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cast¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta “to throw”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cast¹

C13: from Old Norse kasta

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at a single cast, through a single action or event:

   He bankrupted himself at a single cast.

More idioms and phrases containing cast

• die is cast

Synonym Study

See throw. See turn.

Example Sentences

David Plotz is a host of the Slate Political Gabfest and the CEO of City Cast.

From Slate

Foden left the school in September 2023, but she said "secrets cast a shadow over the school".

From BBC

Njoku said the next step for abortion funds in the wake of the Amendment 4 results is to gain more support for the next time a similar vote comes up, and that requires a deeper understanding of why some voters cast ballots for Trump as president and in favor of Amendment 4.

From Salon

It was meant to cast her as a commie threat, or socialist, or ... something.

From Los Angeles Times

Many of the cast and crew had connections to the real-life people in the story.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• choose
• pick