throw up

British  

verb

1. to give up; abandon, relinquish

2. to build or construct hastily

3. to reveal; produce

   every generation throws up its own leaders

4. informal (also intr) to vomit

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throw up Idioms  

1. Vomit, as in The new drug makes many patients throw up . [First half of 1700s]

2. Abandon, relinquish, as in After the results of the poll came in, she threw up her campaign for the Senate .

3. Construct hurriedly, as in The builder threw up three houses in a matter of a few months . [Late 1500s]

4. throw it up to . Criticize, upbraid, as in Dad was always throwing it up to the boys that they were careless and messy . [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Yet, “Pretty Lethal” is packed with run-don’t-walk folly that demands to be seen to be believed — if only to throw up your hands and say, “I guess!”

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

Many of the top teams in college basketball throw up triples at astronomical rates, taking well over half their shots from behind the arc in pursuit of gamebreaking runs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

This reflected concerns from countries including China that trade measures -- like taxes on carbon-intensive goods -- could erode export revenues or throw up barriers to green technology sales.

From Barron's • Nov. 22, 2025

On the way to the New York Film Festival premiere, “I thought, ‘I’ll be fine’ — and then I’m like, ‘I’m going to throw up.’

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2025

Still, I stop short of the elevator and make myself stand my ground, even though I feel like I could throw up.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston