throwback
Biology.
the reversion to an ancestral or earlier type or character; atavism.
an individual having the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type; an example of atavism.
a person or thing that evokes memories or imitates something from the past (often used attributively): These chandeliers are designed as a throwback to those old-style candlelit lanterns.On their anniversary, she took to social media with a throwback photo from their wedding reception.
an act of throwing back: A sudden ban on fish throwbacks could harm ecosystems, since a range of predator species are reliant on discarded fish as a food source.
a setback or check.
Origin of throwback
1Words Nearby throwback
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use throwback in a sentence
This browser is something of a throwback in terms of its appearance.
On the back, there's a throwback capacitive fingerprint reader—a contrast to the in-screen fingerprint readers most phones ship with—and a camera block.
Google’s Pixel 5 has a metal back, wireless charging and costs $699 | Ron Amadeo | September 30, 2020 | Ars TechnicaEach of the eight episodes will focus on a specific paranormal incident, a throwback to a classic monster-of-the-week format.
Here’s the trailer, release date for Simon Pegg/Nick Frost sitcom Truth Seekers | Jennifer Ouellette | September 24, 2020 | Ars TechnicaThis industrial lamp brings a throwback appeal to your bedroom—dimmable Edison bulb included.
Bedside table lamps to brighten your sleep space | PopSci Commerce Team | September 15, 2020 | Popular-ScienceCampus appears to be a throwback to the first days of Facebook, when a person had to have a college email address and attend a select group of universities to be able to join.
But Willie Watson is a throwback to the days of Woody Guthrie and early Bob Dylan.
That, I thought, was racism, and a throwback for America, to simply vote for a man because of the color of his skin.
Politically, Cianci is something of a throwback to a time when conservative, ethnic politics dominated urban centers.
Can America’s Favorite Ex-Con Mayor Win Again? | David Freedlander | June 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat does Soylent have going for it other than missionary zeal and a revoltingly kitschy sci-fi throwback name?
For many of the young she is seen as a throwback to a past few want to see repeated.
Putin Can Take Ukraine Without an Invasion, and Probably Will | Jamie Dettmer | April 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou're sort of a throwback to the days when they needed barnstormers to correct bad working-conditions, aren't you?
Nine Men in Time | Noel Miller LoomisThe third dog of the team was Slasher, a gaunt, untamed malamute, red-eyed and vicious—a throwback to the wolf.
Connie Morgan in Alaska | James B. HendryxIn face, figure, expression, and manner he was a five-hundred-year throwback to his Holland ancestors.
Half Portions | Edna FerberAn atavistic throwback to primitive barbarism is more difficult for us who have twenty centuries behind us more than they have.
He was lighter—perhaps a throwback to some distant age when all sturgeon were white—and thus he was the easiest to see.
The Spell of the White Sturgeon | James Arthur Kjelgaard
British Dictionary definitions for throwback
/ (ˈθrəʊˌbæk) /
a person, animal, or plant that has the characteristics of an earlier or more primitive type
a reversion to such an organism
(intr) to revert to an earlier or more primitive type
(tr foll by on) to force to depend (on): the crisis threw her back on her faith in God
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with throwback
Hinder the progress of, check, as in His illness threw his schooling back a year, or The troops were thrown back by a barrage of fire. [First half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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