toss up

British  

verb

1. to spin (a coin) in the air in order to decide between alternatives by guessing which side will fall uppermost

2. (tr) to prepare (food) quickly

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noun

1. an instance of tossing up a coin

2. informal an even chance or risk; gamble

Explanation

A toss-up is a situation that doesn't have one outcome or choice that's clearly better or more likely than another. If it seems like either basketball team could realistically win, you could call that game a toss-up. Your favorite ice cream flavor might be a toss-up between vanilla and strawberry. And if you two candidates for governor are running neck-and-neck, that's another kind of toss-up. The origin of this informal noun is unclear, but it may stem from the practice of tossing a coin to make a decision: "Let's do a toss-up to see who has to walk the dog. Heads I walk him, tails, you do."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

toss up

In a clip on his personal TikTok, Burnham, thanks to clever editing, appears to toss up a mortarboard hat and catch a builder's helmet, as he promotes technical education.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

One would be the one Angela’s cat-throwing stunt double would toss up into the arms of a cat wrangler hiding in the ceiling behind Oscar.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

It’s a toss up between the windowless box I had before I moved here and this bizarre building that was meant to be flats but hadn’t quite met the standard.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

"It's a toss up which will retire first," he adds, "me or the lorry."

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2022

Just when I think she's finished with all her props and is ready to toss up an ending, out comes a bust of Venus made from cake frosting.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris