toss up
Britishverb
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to spin (a coin) in the air in order to decide between alternatives by guessing which side will fall uppermost
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(tr) to prepare (food) quickly
noun
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an instance of tossing up a coin
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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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If the questioner is asking who will be the closest team to Red Bull, right now that looks like a toss up between Ferrari and Mercedes, with Aston Martin next in line.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2024
Stafford was under pressure all night, and he doesn’t have the receiving corps to toss up a bunch of 50/50 balls.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2023
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 on which look for the U.S. is more roundly despised by critics.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2022
Everybody began to laugh Daddy said, “Well, I guess I’ll have to toss up for this one.”
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
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.
