cast

cast [kast, käst]

vt.

cast, casting [ME casten < ON kasta, to throw]

1.

a) to put, deposit, or throw with force or violence; fling; hurl

b) to give vent to as if by throwing [to cast aspersions]

2. to deposit (a ballot); register (a vote)

3.

a) to cause to fall or turn; direct [to cast one's eyes or attention on a thing]

b) to give forth; project [to cast light, gloom, etc.]

4. to throw out or drop (a net, anchor, etc.) at the end of a rope or cable

5. to throw out (a fly, bait, lure, etc.) at the end of a fishing line

6. to draw (lots) or shake (dice) out of a container

7. to bring forth (young), esp. prematurely

8.

a) to throw off or away

b) to shed; slough [the snake casts its skin]

9. to add up (accounts, a sum, etc.); calculate by arithmetic

10. to calculate (a horoscope, tides, etc.)

11. to arrange in some form or system; formulate

12.

a) to form (molten metal, plastic, etc.) into a particular shape by pouring or pressing into a mold

b) to make by such a method

13.

a) to choose and assign actors for (a play, film, etc.)

b) to select (an actor) for (a role or part)

14. to twist; turn; warp

15. Naut. to direct the bow of (a ship) to port or starboard in getting under way

vi.

1. to throw dice

2. to throw out a fly, etc. at the end of a fishing line

3. [Brit. Dial.] to vomit

4. to turn; warp

5. to add up figures; calculate

6. to calculate horoscopes, tides, etc.

7. to be formed in a mold

8. Obs.

a) to make a forecast; conjecture

b) to deliberate; plan

9. Hunting to search for game, a trail, or a lost scent

10. Naut.

a) to cast a ship

b) to veer

n.

1. the act of casting; a throw; also, a way of casting or distance thrown; specif.,

a) a throw of dice; also, the number thrown

b) a stroke of fortune

c) a turn of the eye; glance; look

d) a throw of a fishing line, net, etc.

e) an adding up; calculation

f) a conjecture; forecast

2. a quantity or thing cast in a certain way; specif.,

a) something thrown up, off, or out, as bait on a line, a pair of hawks in falconry, the dirt thrown up by worms, the shed skin of an insect, etc.

b) the amount of metal cast at one time

c) something formed in or as in a mold, as a bronze or plaster reproduction of a statue modeled in clay; also, the mold

d) a mold or impression taken of an object or of printing type

e) a plaster form for immobilizing a broken arm, leg, etc.

f) the set of actors in a play or movie

3. the form or direction in which a thing is cast; specif.,

a) an arrangement

b) an appearance or stamp, as of features

c) kind; quality [of an aristocratic cast]

d) a tinge; shade [a reddish cast]

e) a trace or suggestion

f) a turn or twist to one side; tendency; bent

g) a slight turning in or out of the eye

4. Hunting a scattering of the hounds to find a lost scent

5. Med. a substance formed and molded in the cavities of some diseased organs [renal casts]

SYN.- THROW

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cast about

1. to search; look (for)

2. to make plans; devise

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cast aside or cast away

to discard; abandon

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cast back

1. to refer to something past

2. to resemble some distant ancestor

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cast down

1. to turn downward

2. to sadden; depress; discourage

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cast off

1. to discard; abandon; disown

2. to set free

3. to release or disengage the line or lines holding a vessel in place beside a dock, quay, etc.

4. Knitting to make the last row of stitches

5. Printing to estimate how many lines or pages of type will be set from (a given amount of copy)

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cast on

Knitting to make the first row of stitches

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cast out

to force to get out or go away; expel

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cast up

1. to throw up; vomit

2. to turn upward

3. to add up; total

4. to construct by digging [to cast up earthworks]