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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

cast.

To move, or be moved, away.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/kɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/kast/Northern-England, Scotland/kæst/General-American
  1. To move, or be moved, away.

    physical
  2. To move, or be moved, away. To throw.

    literary · physical
  3. To move, or be moved, away. To throw forward (a fishing line, net etc.) into the sea.

    physical
  4. To move, or be moved, away. To throw down or aside.

    physical
  5. To move, or be moved, away. To throw off (the skin) as a process of growth; to shed the hair or fur of the coat.

    physical
  6. To move, or be moved, away. To shed leaves or fruit prematurely.

    physical
  7. To move, or be moved, away. To remove, take off (clothes).

    physical
  8. To move, or be moved, away. To heave the lead and line in order to ascertain the depth of water.

    physical
  9. To move, or be moved, away. To vomit.

    obsolete · physical
  10. To move, or be moved, away. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart.

    archaic · physical
  11. To move, or be moved, away. To throw out or emit; to exhale.

    archaic · physical
  12. To direct (one's eyes, gaze etc.).

  13. To add up (a column of figures, accounts etc.); cross-cast refers to adding up a row of figures.

  14. To predict, to decide, to plan. To calculate the astrological value of (a horoscope, birth etc.).

  15. To predict, to decide, to plan. To plan, intend.

    obsolete
  16. To predict, to decide, to plan. To assign (a role in a play or performance).

    transitive
    The director cast the part carefully.
  17. To predict, to decide, to plan. To assign a role in a play or performance to (an actor).

    transitive
    The director cast John Smith as King Lear.
  18. To predict, to decide, to plan. To describe in an opinionated way. Mostly used with a metaphor involving light.

    transitive
    King John cast his predecessor in a negative light to deflect criticism of his own questionable decisions.
  19. To predict, to decide, to plan. To consider; to turn or revolve in the mind; to plan.

    to cast about for reasons
  20. To predict, to decide, to plan. To impose; to bestow; to rest.

    archaic
  21. To predict, to decide, to plan. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict.

    archaic
    to be cast in damages
  22. To predict, to decide, to plan. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide.

    a casting voice
  23. To perform, bring forth (a magical spell or enchantment).

  24. To throw (light etc.) on or upon something, or in a given direction.

  25. To give birth to (a child) prematurely; to miscarry.

    archaic
  26. To shape (molten metal etc.) by pouring into a mould; to make (an object) in such a way.

  27. To shape (molten metal etc.) by pouring into a mould; to make (an object) in such a way. To stereotype or electrotype.

    dated
  28. To twist or warp (of fabric, timber etc.).

  29. To bring the bows of a sailing ship on to the required tack just as the anchor is weighed by use of the headsail; to bring (a ship) round.

  30. To deposit (a ballot or voting paper); to formally register (one's vote).

    Time to tell all the ballots cast by voters in the box.
  31. To change a variable type from, for example, integer to real, or integer to text.

    To display a number, you need to cast it to a string type.
  32. Of dogs, hunters: to spread out and search for a scent.

  33. To set (a bone etc.) in a cast.

  34. To open a circle in order to begin a spell or meeting of witches.

  35. To broadcast (video) over the Internet or a local network, especially to one's television.

    The streamer was the first to cast footage of the new game.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta (“to throw, cast, overturn”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots cast (“to cast, throw”), Danish kaste (“to throw”), Swedish kasta (“to throw, cast, fling, toss, discard”), Icelandic kasta (“to pitch, toss”). In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp. The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.

noun/kɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/kast/Northern-England, Scotland/kæst/General-American
  1. An act of throwing.

  2. The number rolled on a die when it is thrown.

  3. An instance of throwing out a fishing line.

  4. Something which has been thrown, dispersed etc.

  5. A small mass of earth "thrown off" or excreted by a worm.

    The area near the stream was covered with little bubbly worm casts.
  6. The collective group of actors performing a play or production together.

    He’s in the cast of Oliver.
    The cast was praised for a fine performance.
  7. The casting procedure.

    The men got into position for the cast, two at the ladle, two with long rods, all with heavy clothing.
  8. An object made in a mould.

    The cast would need a great deal of machining to become a recognizable finished part.
  9. A supportive and immobilising device used to help mend broken bones.

    The doctor put a cast on the boy’s broken arm.
  10. The mould used to make cast objects.

    A plaster cast was made from his face.
  11. The number of hawks (or occasionally other birds) cast off at one time; a pair of hawks.

    collective
  12. A squint.

  13. Visual appearance.

    Her features had a delicate cast to them.
  14. The form of one's thoughts, mind etc.

  15. Obsolete form of caste (“hereditary social class of South Asia”).

    alt-of · obsolete
  16. Animal and insect remains which have been regurgitated by a bird.

  17. A group of crabs.

    collective
  18. A group of crabs. Two crabs.

    Norfolk · collective · historical
  19. The measurement of the angle of a shotgun stock from a top-view center line, used to align the shotgun to the shooter's eye.

  20. A chance or attempt at something.

  21. Assistance given by transporting a person or lightening their labour.

    archaic · colloquial
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta (“to throw, cast, overturn”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots cast (“to cast, throw”), Danish kaste (“to throw”), Swedish kasta (“to throw, cast, fling, toss, discard”), Icelandic kasta (“to pitch, toss”). In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp. The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.

adj/kɑːst/Received-Pronunciation/kast/Northern-England, Scotland/kæst/General-American
  1. Of an animal, such as a horse or sheep: Lying in a position from which it cannot rise on its own.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kas- Proto-Germanic *kastōną Old Norse kastabor. Middle English casten English cast From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta (“to throw, cast, overturn”), from Proto-Germanic *kastōną (“to throw, cast”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots cast (“to cast, throw”), Danish kaste (“to throw”), Swedish kasta (“to throw, cast, fling, toss, discard”), Icelandic kasta (“to pitch, toss”). In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp. The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.