cast

American  

[kast, kahst] / kæst, kɑst /

verb (used with object)

cast, casting

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.

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verb (used without object)

cast, casting

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.

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. cast up

   1. to add up; compute.

   2. to vomit; eject.

   3. Chiefly Scot. to turn up; appear.

2. cast about

   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. cast back to refer to something past; revert to.

   The composer casts back to his earlier work.

4. cast off. see castoff.

5. cast away

   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. cast on to set (yarn) on a needle in order to form the initial stitches in knitting.

7. cast down to lower; humble.

8. cast out to force out; expel; eject.

idioms

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

   He bankrupted himself at a single cast.

cast British  

/ 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. (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. 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. to share in the activities or fortunes of (someone else)

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noun

1. the act of casting or throwing

2. 1. Also called: casting.  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)

cast More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cast

• die is cast

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Related Words

See throw. See turn.

Other Word Forms

• castability noun
• castable adjective
• subcast noun
• uncast adjective
• well-cast adjective

Etymology

Origin of cast

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

Explanation

A cast is the group of actors who make up a film or stage play. And the act of being chosen for the part? Well, they were cast by the director. That's showbiz for you. Cast also refers to various types of actions a person can take: if you throw out a fishing line in a particular way, you are said to cast it; if you fancy your chances in Vegas, you cast the dice at the craps table. And if you break a limb and they bandage it up in solid plaster for your friends to write all over? That, too, is a cast.

Example Sentences

A Hollywood actor is to join the cast of Welsh soap Pobl y Cwm after learning the language.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

Some of the cast assembled here take a little too long to find the essence of the men and women they portray, but on the whole they do distinguished and affecting work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Since then, parodies have become a social-media staple for real-estate teams, healthcare clinicians, church pastors and even the cast of 2025’s “Superman” reboot.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

Regular theatergoers will recognize many of the names in the cast, all excellent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Jack had made it for her birthday and taught her to cast the line in a whistling arc—the best part of fishing, Nim thought.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Related Words

• figure
• sculpture
• shape