toss

Everyday

1. To toss means to throw something lightly: toss the ball to me. tree →
2. A coin toss is throwing a coin to see which side lands up, heads or tails. tree →
3. To toss a salad is to mix it gently. tree →
4. To toss and turn is to move about in bed and not sleep. tree →
5. To toss something out is to throw it away. tree →

In the lessons

Maths: throws counted; coin tosses with chances: a coin has 2 sides, so heads and tails are equally likely; tails = tosses − heads. Sport: the toss decides who starts a game. Everyday: toss a pancake, toss the salad, «it's a toss-up» (either could happen).

Examples

• She tossed the ball 12 times. tree →
• He tosses a coin 10 times and gets 6 heads. tree →
• They tossed 3 bags into the bin. tree →
• How many tosses were tails? tree →
• The captain won the toss and chose to bat first. tree →
• Dad tossed the pancake high in the air. tree →
• I tossed and turned all night. tree →
• Toss the salad with a little oil. tree →
• He tossed it gayly to the boy. tree →

Note

Regular: tossed; plural tosses. Counts throws. Trap: if heads and tails are both counted, tails = tosses − heads. Trap: past coin tosses do not change the next one; each toss is still a 1 in 2 chance.

In Jewish tradition

Used for waters heaving, a storm-beaten city, and a person hurled away like a ball as a punishment.

Interpretation. Isaiah's "tossed with tempest" is read as a comfort to Jerusalem: after her suffering, God will rebuild her with precious stones.

Examples

• Who is this like the Nile that riseth up, like the rivers whose waters toss themselves? (Prophets JER.46.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will set thy stones in fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. (Prophets ISA.54.11, JPS 1917) tree →
• He will violently roll and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of the lord's house. (Prophets ISA.22.18, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Regular: tossed; plural tosses. Counts throws. Trap: if heads and tails are both counted, tails = tosses − heads. Trap: past coin tosses do not change the next one; each toss is still a 1 in 2 chance.