CAST
verb
Definitions
- 1. To send or drive by force; to throw; to fling; to hurl; to impel. Uzziash prepared . . . slings to cast stones. 2 Chron. xxvi. 14 Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. Acts. xii. 8 We must be cast upon a certain island. Acts. xxvii. 26.
- 2. To direct or turn, as the eyes. How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! Shak.
- 3. To drop; to deposit; as, to cast a ballot.
- 4. To throw down, as in wrestling. Shak.
- 5. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart. Thine enemies shall cast a trench [bank] about thee. Luke xix. 48.
- 6. To throw off; to eject; to shed; to lose. His filth within being cast. Shak. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit. Mal. iii. 11 The creatures that cast the skin are the snake, the viper, etc. Bacon.
- 7. To bring forth prematurely; to slink. Thy she-goats have not cast their young. Gen. xxi. 38.
- 8. To throw out or emit; to exhale. [Obs.] This . . . casts a sulphureous smell. Woodward.
- 9. To cause to fall; to shed; to reflect; to throw; as, to cast a ray upon a screen; to cast light upon a subject.
- 10. To impose; to bestow; to rest. The government I cast upon my brother. Shak. Cast thy burden upon the Lord. Ps. iv. 22.
- 11. To dismiss; to discard; to cashier. [Obs.] The state can not with safety casthim.
- 12. To compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast a horoscope. "Let it be cast and paid." Shak. You cast the event of war my noble lord. Shak.
- 13. To contrive; to plan. [Archaic] The cloister . . . had, I doubt not, been cast for [an orange- house]. Sir W. Temple.
- 14. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict; as, to be cast in damages. She was cast to be hanged. Jeffrey. Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. Dr. H. More.
- 15. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide; as, a casting voice. How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious! South.
- 16. To form into a particular shape, by pouring liquid metal or other material into a mold; to fashion; to found; as, to cast bells, stoves, bullets.
- 17. To stereotype or electrotype.
- 18. To fix, distribute, or allot, as the parts of a play among actors; also to assign (an actor) for a part. Our parts in the other world will be new cast. Addison. To cast anchor (Naut.) Se under Anchor. -- To cast a horoscope, to calculate it. -- To cast a horse, sheep, or other animal, to throw with the feet upwards, in such a manner as to prevent its rising again. -- To cast a shoe, to throw off or lose a shoe, said of a horse or ox. -- To cast aside, to throw or push aside; to neglect; to reject as useless or inconvenient. -- To cast away. (a) To throw away; to lavish; to waste. "Cast away a life" Addison. (b) To reject; to let perish. "Cast away his people." Rom. xi. 1. "Cast one away." Shak. (c) To wreck. "Cast away and sunk." Shak. -- To cast by, to reject; to dismiss or discard; to throw away. -- To cast down, to throw down; to destroy; to deject or depress, as the mind. "Why art thou cast down. O my soul" Ps. xiii. 5. -- To cast forth, to throw out, or eject, as from an inclosed place; to emit; to send out. -- To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of. -- To cast in one's teeth, to upbraid or abuse one for; to twin. -- To cast lots. See under Lot. -- To cast off. (a) To discard or reject; to drive away; to put off; to free one's self from. (b) (Hunting) To leave behind, as dogs; also, to set loose, or free, as dogs. Crabb. (c) (Naut.) To untie, throw off, or let go, as a rope. -- To cast off copy, (Print.), to estimate how much printed matter a given amount of copy will make, or how large the page must be in order that the copy may make a given number of pages. -- To cast one's self on or upon to yield or submit one's self unreservedly to. as to the mercy of another. -- To cast out, to throy out; to eject, as from a house; to cast forth; to expel; to utter. -- To cast the lead (Naut.), to sound by dropping the lead to the botton. -- To cast the water (Med.), to examine the urine for signs of disease. [Obs.]. -- To cast up. (a) To throw up; to raise. (b) To compute; to reckon, as the cost. (c) To vomit. (d) To twit with; to throw in one's teeth.
Other Definitions
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Added: October 09, 2025
Updated: October 09, 2025