To toss something means to throw it gently or carelessly in the air, often without aiming for a specific place.
Imagine you're eating at a picnic and you accidentally knock over your sandwich. You might just toss it aside and grab another one from the basket. That's because tossing is such a casual action - you don't worry about catching what you throw, you just let it go where it will. You can also use toss to talk about throwing something in a more playful way, like tossing a coin or a ball back and forth with friends. Sometimes people even say "I'm going to toss this" when they mean they're going to get rid of something by throwing it away.
How common is "toss"?
Word toss is considered uncommon in modern English. It appears most frequently in fiction texts and less often in other writings.
Definitions
noun
A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.
The coin toss before a cricket match in order to decide who bats first, or before a football match in order to decide the direction of play.
A haughty throwing up of the head.
(British slang) A jot, in the phrase 'give a toss'.
Example: I couldn't give a toss about her.
(British slang) A state of agitation; commotion.
A measure of sprats.
1 / 6
verb
To throw with an initial upward direction.
Example: Toss it over here!
To lift with a sudden or violent motion.
Example: to toss the head
To agitate; to make restless.
To subject to trials; to harass.
To flip a coin, to decide a point of contention.
Example: I'll toss you for it.
To discard: to toss out
Example: I don't need it any more; you can just toss it.
To stir or mix (a salad).
Example: to toss a salad; a tossed salad.
(British slang) To masturbate
To search (a room or a cell), sometimes leaving visible disorder, as for valuables or evidence of a crime.
Example: "Someone tossed just his living room and bedroom." / "They probably found what they were looking for."
To roll and tumble; to be in violent commotion.
Example: tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep
To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean, or as a ship in heavy seas.
To keep in play; to tumble over.
Example: to spend four years in tossing the rules of grammar
To peak (the oars), to lift them from the rowlocks and hold them perpendicularly, the handle resting on the bottom of the boat.
(British slang) To drink in large draughts; to gulp.
