cast
pronunciation
How to pronounce cast in British English:
UK [kɑːst]
How to pronounce cast in American English:
US [kæst]
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- Noun:
- the actors in a play
- container into which liquid is poured to create a given shape when it hardens
- the distinctive form in which a thing is made
- the visual appearance of something or someone
- bandage consisting of a firm covering (often made of plaster of Paris) that immobilizes broken bones while they heal
- object formed by a mold
- the act of throwing dice
- the act of throwing a fishing line out over the water by means of a rod and reel
- a violent throw
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- Verb:
- put or send forth
- deposit
- select to play,sing, or dance a part in a play, movie, musical, opera, or ballet
- throw forcefully
- assign the roles of (a movie or a play) to actors
- move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
- form by pouring (e.g., wax or hot metal) into a cast or mold
- get rid of
- choose at random
- formulate in a particular style or language
- eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
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- Adjective:
- (of molten metal or glass) formed by pouring or pressing into a mold
Word Origin
- cast
- cast: [31] Cast comes from Old Norse kasta ‘throw’. It has gradually been replaced since Middle English times as the ordinary word for ‘propelling with the arm’ by throw. Of the various metaphorical senses of the noun, ‘set of performers in a play’ developed in the 17th century, apparently from an earlier ‘plan, design’.
- cast (v.)
- c. 1200, "to throw, fling, hurl," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kasta "to throw" (cognate with Swedish kasta, Danish kaste, North Frisian kastin), of uncertain origin. Meaning "to form in a mold" is late 15c. In the sense of "warp, turn" it replaced Old English weorpan (see warp (v.)), and itself largely has been superseded now by throw, though cast still is used of fishing lines and glances. Meaning "calculate, find by reckoning; chart (a course)" is from c. 1300.
- cast (n.)
- mid-13c., "a throw, an act of throwing," from cast (v.). In early use especially of dice, hence figurative uses relating to fortune or fate. Meaning "that which is cast" is from c. 1550s. Meaning "dash or shade of color" is from c. 1600. The sense of "a throw" carried an idea of "the form the thing takes after it has been thrown," which led to widespread and varied meanings, such as "group of actors in a play" (1630s). OED finds 42 distinct noun meaning and 83 verbal ones, with many sub-definitions. Many of the figurative senses converged in a general meaning "sort, kind, style" (mid-17c.). A cast in the eye (early 14c.) preserves the older verbal sense of "warp, turn."
Example
- 1. We cast shadows according to the same laws .
- 2. Cast your vote to define your birding self !
- 3. But cast your mind back to late 2008 .
- 4. Cast your vote and let us know what you think .
- 5. The condemnation after cast lead and the flotilla only made israel more nationalistic .