throw up
Britishverb
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to give up; abandon, relinquish
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to build or construct hastily
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to reveal; produce
every generation throws up its own leaders
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informal (also intr) to vomit
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Vomit, as in The new drug makes many patients throw up . [First half of 1700s]
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Abandon, relinquish, as in After the results of the poll came in, she threw up her campaign for the Senate .
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Construct hurriedly, as in The builder threw up three houses in a matter of a few months . [Late 1500s]
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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]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the face of a financial quagmire, why not throw up a few glow sticks?
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Sometimes they would eat so much in one sitting that they would throw up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Lyndon Dykes looked, for a second, as if he was going to throw up.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
Among other agenda items, nations will consider how to equitably reduce fossil fuel production and consumption, and reforming subsidies that throw up barriers to renewable energy investment.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
I sat in the back and tried not to throw up as Stephen Kellner navigated the undulating roads at unsafe velocities.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.