Adjacent Words

Cast definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAST, v.t. pret. And pp. cast.
1. To throw, fling or send; that is, to drive from, by force, as from the hand, or from an engine.
Hagar cast the child under a shrub. Genesis 21.
Uzziah prepared slings to cast stones. 2 Chronicles 26.
2. To sow; to scatter seed.
If a man should cast seen into the ground. Mark 4.
3. To drive or impel by violence.
A mighty west wind cast the locusts into the sea. Exodus 10.
4. To shed or throw off; as, trees cast their fruit; a serpent casts his skin.
5. To throw or let fall; as, to cast anchor. Hence, to east anchor is to moor, as a ship, the effect of casting the anchor.
6. To throw, as dice or lots; as, to cast lots.
7. To throw on the ground, as in wrestling.
8. To throw away, as worthless.
His carcase was cast in the way. 1 Kings 13.
9. To emit or throw out.
This casts a sulphurous smell.
10. To throw, to extend, as a trench or rampart, including the sense of digging, raising, or forming.
Thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee. Luke 19.
11. To thrust; as, to cast into prison.
12. To put, or set, in a particular state.
Both chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep. Psalms 76.
13. To condemn; to convict; as a criminal.
Both tried and both were cast.
14. To overcome in a civil suit, or in any contest of strength or skill; as, to cast the defendant or an antagonist.
15. To cashier or discard.
16. To lay aside, as unfit for use; to reject; as a garment.
17. To make to preponderate; to throw into one scale, for the purpose of giving it superior weight; to decide by a vote that gives a superiority in numbers; as, to cast the balance in ones favor; a casting vote or voice.
18. To throw together several particulars, to find the sum; as, to cast accounts. Hence, to throw together circumstances and facts, to find the result; to compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast the event of war.
To cast and see how many things there are which a man cannot do himself.
19. To contrive; to plan.
20. To judge, or to consider, in order to judge.
21. To fix, or distribute the parts of a play among the actors.
22. To throw, as the sight; to direct, or turn, as the eye; to glance; as, to cast a look, or glance, or the eye.
23. To found; to form into a particular shape, by pouring liquid metal into a mold; to run; as, to cast cannon.
Thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it. Exodus 25.
24. Figuratively, to shape; to form by a model.
25. To communicate; to spread over; as, to cast a luster upon posterity; to cast splendor upon actions, or light upon a subject.
To cast aside, to dismiss or reject as useless or inconvenient.
To cast away, to reject. Leviticus 26. Isaiah 5. Romans 11. Also, to throw away; to lavish or waste by profusion; to turn to no use; as, to cast away life.
Also, to wreck, as a ship.
To cast by, to reject; to dismiss or discard with neglect or hate, or as useless.
To cast down, to throw down; to deject or depress the mind.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul. Psalms 42.
To cast forth, to throw out, or eject, as from an inclosed place; to emit, or send abroad; to exhale.
To cast off, to discard or reject; to drive away; to put off; to put away; to disburden. Among huntsmen, to leave behind, as dogs; to set loose, or free. Among seamen, to loose, or untie.
To cast out, to send forth; to reject or turn out; to throw out, as words; to speak or give vent to.
To cast up, to compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast up accounts, or the cost. Also, to eject; to vomit.
To cast on, to refer or resign to.
To cast ones self on, to resign or yield ones self to the disposal of, without reserve.
To cast young, to miscarry; to suffer abortion. Genesis 32.
To cast in the teeth, to upbraid; to charge; to twit. So in Danish, kaster in I noesen, to cast in the nose.
CAST, v.i.
1. To throw forward, as the thoughts, with a view to some determination; or to turn or revolve in the mind; to contrive; sometimes followed by about.
I cast in careful mind to seek her out. Spenser.
To cast about how to perform or obtain. Bacon.
2. To receive form or shape.
Metal will cast and mold.
3. To warp; to twist from regular shape.
Stuff is said to cast or warp, when it alters its flatness or straightness.
Note. Cast, like throw and warp, implies a winding motion.
4. In seamens language, to fall off, or incline, so as to bring the side of a ship to the wind; applied particularly to a ship riding with her head to the wind, when her anchor is first loosened.
CAST, n.
1. The act of casting; a throw; the thing thrown; the form or state of throwing; kind or manner of throwing.
2. The distance passed by a thing thrown; or the space through which a thing thrown may ordinarily pass; as, about a stones cast. Luke 22.
3. A stroke; a touch.
This was a cast of Woods politics.
4. Motion or turn of the eye; direction, look or glance; a squinting.
Thy let you see by one cast of the eye.
5. A throw of dice; hence, a state of chance or hazard.
It is an even cast, whether the army should march this way or that way.
Hence the phrase, the last cast, is used to denote that all is ventured on one throw, or one effort.
6. Form; shape.
A heroic poem in another cast.
7. A tinge; a slight coloring, or slight degree of a color; as a cast of green. Hence, a slight alteration in external appearance.
The native hue of resolution is sicklied oer with the pale cast of thought. Shak.
8. Manner; air; mien; as, a peculiar cast of countenance. This sense implies, the turn or manner of throwing; as, the neat cast f verse.
9. A flight; a number of hawks let go at once.
10. A small statue of bronze.
11. Among founders, a tube of wax, fitted into a mold, to give shape to metal.
12. A cylindrical piece of brass or copper, slit in two lengthwise, to form a canal or conduit, in a mold, for conveying metal.
13. Among plumbers, a little brazen funnel, at one end of a mold, for casting pipes without sodering, by means of which the melted metal is poured into the mold.
14. A breed, race, lineage, kind, sort.
15. In Hindoostan, a tribe or class of the same rank or profession; as the cast of Bramins, or priests; of rajahs, or princes; of choutres, or artificers; and of parias, or poor people. Or according to some writers, of Bramins; of cuttery, or soldiers; of shuddery, or merchants; and of wyse, or mechanics.
The four casts of the Hindoos are the Brahmins or sacred order; the Chechteres or soldiers and rulers; the Bice, Vaissya, or husbandmen and merchants; and the Sooders, Sudras, or laborers and mechanics.
16. A trick.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the actors in a play [syn: cast, cast of characters, dramatis personae]
2: container into which liquid is poured to create a given shape when it hardens [syn: mold, mould, cast]
3: the distinctive form in which a thing is made; "pottery of this cast was found throughout the region" [syn: cast, mold, mould, stamp]
4: the visual appearance of something or someone; "the delicate cast of his features" [syn: form, shape, cast]
5: bandage consisting of a firm covering (often made of plaster of Paris) that immobilizes broken bones while they heal [syn: cast, plaster cast, plaster bandage]
6: object formed by a mold [syn: cast, casting]
7: the act of throwing dice [syn: cast, roll]
8: the act of throwing a fishing line out over the water by means of a rod and reel [syn: casting, cast]
9: a violent throw [syn: hurl, cast] v
1: put or send forth; "She threw the flashlight beam into the corner"; "The setting sun threw long shadows"; "cast a spell"; "cast a warm light" [syn: project, cast, contrive, throw]
2: deposit; "cast a vote"; "cast a ballot"
3: select to play,sing, or dance a part in a play, movie, musical, opera, or ballet; "He cast a young woman in the role of Desdemona"
4: throw forcefully [syn: hurl, hurtle, cast]
5: assign the roles of (a movie or a play) to actors; "Who cast this beautiful movie?"
6: move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town" [syn: roll, wander, swan, stray, tramp, roam, cast, ramble, rove, range, drift, vagabond]
7: form by pouring (e.g., wax or hot metal) into a cast or mold; "cast a bronze sculpture" [syn: cast, mold, mould]
8: get rid of; "he shed his image as a pushy boss"; "shed your clothes" [syn: shed, cast, cast off, shake off, throw, throw off, throw away, drop]
9: choose at random; "draw a card"; "cast lots" [syn: draw, cast]
10: formulate in a particular style or language; "I wouldn't put it that way"; "She cast her request in very polite language" [syn: frame, redact, cast, put, couch]
11: eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; "After drinking too much, the students vomited"; "He purged continuously"; "The patient regurgitated the food we gave him last night" [syn: vomit, vomit up, purge, cast, sick, cat, be sick, disgorge, regorge, retch, puke, barf, spew, spue, chuck, upchuck, honk, regurgitate, throw up] [ant: keep down]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (cast; casting) Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse kasta; akin to Old Norse k?s heap Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. a. to cause to move or send forth by throwing <cast a fishing lure> <cast dice> b. direct <cast a glance> c. (1) to put forth <the fire casts a warm glow> <cast light on the subject> (2) to place as if by throwing <cast doubt on their reliability> d. to deposit (a ballot) formally e. (1) to throw off or away <the horse cast a shoe> (2) to get rid of ; discard <cast off all restraint> (3) shed, molt (4) to bring forth; especially to give birth to prematurely f. to throw to the ground especially in wrestling g. to build by throwing up earth 2. a. (1) to perform arithmetical operations on ; add (2) to calculate by means of astrology b. archaic decide, intend 3. a. to dispose or arrange into parts or into a suitable form or order b. (1) to assign the parts of (a dramatic production) to actors <cast a movie> (2) to assign (as an actor) to a role or part <was cast in the leading role> 4. a. to give a shape to (a substance) by pouring in liquid or plastic form into a mold and letting harden without pressure <cast steel> b. to form by this process 5. turn <cast the scale slightly> 6. to make (a knot or stitch) by looping or catching up 7. twist, warp <a beam cast by age> intransitive verb 1. to throw something; specifically to throw out a lure with a fishing rod 2. dialect British vomit 3. dialect England to bear fruit ; yield 4. a. to perform addition b. obsolete estimate, conjecture 5. warp 6. to range over land in search of a trail — used of hunting dogs or trackers 7. veer Synonyms: see discard, throw • castability noun • castable adjective II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. an act of casting b. something that happens as a result of chance c. a throw of dice d. a throw of a line (as a fishing line) or net 2. a. the form in which a thing is constructed b. (1) the set of actors in a dramatic production (2) a set of characters or persons <in both great houses there is the usual cast of servants — Elizabeth Bowen> c. the arrangement of draperies in a painting 3. the distance to which a thing can be thrown; specifically the distance a bow can shoot 4. a. a turning of the eye in a particular direction; also expression <this freakish, elfish cast came into the child's eye — Nathaniel Hawthorne> b. a slight strabismus 5. something that is thrown or the quantity thrown; especially British the leader of a fishing line 6. a. something that is formed by casting in a mold or form: as (1) a reproduction (as of a statue) in metal or plaster ; casting (2) a fossil reproduction of the details of a natural object by mineral infiltration b. an impression taken from an object with a liquid or plastic substance ; mold c. a rigid casing (as of fiberglass or of gauze impregnated with plaster of paris) used for immobilizing a usually diseased or broken part 7. forecast, conjecture 8. a. an overspread of a color or modification of the appearance of a substance by a trace of some added hue ; shade <gray with a greenish cast> b. tinge, suggestion 9. a. a ride on one's way in a vehicle ; lift b. Scottish help, assistance 10. a. shape, appearance <the delicate cast of her features> b. characteristic quality <his father's conservative cast of mind> 11. something that is shed, ejected, or thrown out or off: as a. the excrement of an earthworm b. a mass of soft matter formed in cavities of diseased organs and discharged from the body c. the skin of an insect 12. the ranging in search of a trail by a dog, hunting pack, or tracker

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (past and past part. cast) 1 tr. throw, esp. deliberately or forcefully. 2 tr. (often foll. by on, over) a direct or cause to fall (one's eyes, a glance, light, a shadow, a spell, etc.). b express (doubts, aspersions, etc.). 3 tr. throw out (a fishing-line) into the water. 4 tr. let down (an anchor or sounding-lead). 5 tr. a throw off, get rid of. b shed (skin etc.) esp. in the process of growth. c (of a horse) lose (a shoe). 6 tr. record, register, or give (a vote). 7 tr. a shape (molten metal or plastic material) in a mould. b make (a product) in this way. 8 tr. Printing make (type). 9 tr. a (usu. foll. by as) assign (an actor) to play a particular character. b allocate roles in (a play, film, etc.). 10 tr. (foll. by in, into) arrange or formulate (facts etc.) in a specified form. 11 tr. & intr. reckon, add up, calculate (accounts or figures). 12 tr. calculate and record details of (a horoscope). --n. 1 a the throwing of a missile etc. b the distance reached by this. 2 a throw or a number thrown at dice. 3 a throw of a net, sounding-lead, or fishing-line. 4 Fishing a that which is cast, esp. the gut with hook and fly. b a place for casting (a good cast). 5 a an object of metal, clay, etc., made in a mould. b a moulded mass of solidified material, esp. plaster protecting a broken limb. 6 the actors taking part in a play, film, etc. 7 form, type, or quality (cast of features; cast of mind). 8 a tinge or shade of colour. 9 a (in full cast in the eye) a slight squint. b a twist or inclination. 10 a a mass of earth excreted by a worm. b a mass of indigestible food thrown up by a hawk, owl, etc. 11 the form into which any work is thrown or arranged. 12 a a wide area covered by a dog or pack to find a trail. b Austral. & NZ a wide sweep made by a sheepdog in mustering sheep. Phrases and idioms: cast about (or around or round) make an extensive search (actually or mentally) (cast about for a solution). cast adrift leave to drift. cast ashore (of waves etc.) throw to the shore. cast aside give up using; abandon. cast away 1 reject. 2 (in passive) be shipwrecked (cf. CASTAWAY). cast one's bread upon the waters see BREAD. cast down depress, deject (cf. DOWNCAST). casting vote a deciding vote usu. given by the chairperson when the votes on two sides are equal. Usage: From an obsolete sense of cast = turn the scale. cast iron a hard alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon cast in a mould. cast-iron adj. 1 made of cast iron. 2 hard, unchallengeable, unchangeable. cast loose detach; detach oneself. cast lots see LOT. cast-net a net thrown out and immediately drawn in. cast off 1 abandon. 2 Knitting take the stitches off the needle by looping each over the next to finish the edge. 3 Naut. a set a ship free from a quay etc. b loosen and throw off (rope etc.). 4 Printing estimate the space that will be taken in print by manuscript copy. cast-off adj. abandoned, discarded. --n. a cast-off thing, esp. a garment. cast on Knitting make the first row of loops on the needle. cast out expel. cast up 1 (of the sea) deposit on the shore. 2 add up (figures etc.). Etymology: ME f. ON kasta

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cast Cast (k[.a]st), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cast; p. pr. & vb. n. Casting.] [Cf. Dan. kaste, Icel. & Sw. kasta; perh. akin to L. gerere to bear, carry. E. jest.] 1. To send or drive by force; to throw; to fling; to hurl; to impel. Uzziah prepared . . . slings to cast stones. --2 Chron. xxvi. 14. Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. --Acts. xii. 8. We must be cast upon a certain island. --Acts. xxvii. 26. 2. To direct or turn, as the eyes. How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! --Shak. 3. To drop; to deposit; as, to cast a ballot. 4. To throw down, as in wrestling. --Shak. 5. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart. Thine enemies shall cast a trench [bank] about thee. --Luke xix. 48. 6. To throw off; to eject; to shed; to lose. His filth within being cast. --Shak. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit. --Mal. iii. 11 The creatures that cast the skin are the snake, the viper, etc. --Bacon. 7. To bring forth prematurely; to slink. Thy she-goats have not cast their young. --Gen. xxi. 38. 8. To throw out or emit; to exhale. [Obs.] This . . . casts a sulphureous smell. --Woodward. 9. To cause to fall; to shed; to reflect; to throw; as, to cast a ray upon a screen; to cast light upon a subject. 10. To impose; to bestow; to rest. The government I cast upon my brother. --Shak. Cast thy burden upon the Lord. --Ps. iv. 22. 11. To dismiss; to discard; to cashier. [Obs.] The state can not with safety cast him. 12. To compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast a horoscope. ``Let it be cast and paid.'' --Shak. You cast the event of war, my noble lord. --Shak. 13. To contrive; to plan. [Archaic] The cloister . . . had, I doubt not, been cast for [an orange-house]. --Sir W. Temple. 14. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict; as, to be cast in damages. She was cast to be hanged. --Jeffrey. Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. --Dr. H. More. 15. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide; as, a casting voice. How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious! --South. 16. To form into a particular shape, by pouring liquid metal or other material into a mold; to fashion; to found; as, to cast bells, stoves, bullets. 17. (Print.) To stereotype or electrotype. 18. To fix, distribute, or allot, as the parts of a play among actors; also to assign (an actor) for a part. Our parts in the other world will be new cast. --Addison. To cast anchor (Naut.) See under Anchor. To cast a horoscope, to calculate it. To cast a horse, sheep, or other animal, to throw with the feet upwards, in such a manner as to prevent its rising again. To cast a shoe, to throw off or lose a shoe, said of a horse or ox. To cast aside, to throw or push aside; to neglect; to reject as useless or inconvenient. To cast away. (a) To throw away; to lavish; to waste. ``Cast away a life'' --Addison. (b) To reject; to let perish. ``Cast away his people.'' --Rom. xi. 1. ``Cast one away.'' --Shak. (c) To wreck. ``Cast away and sunk.'' --Shak. To cast by, to reject; to dismiss or discard; to throw away. To cast down, to throw down; to destroy; to deject or depress, as the mind. ``Why art thou cast down. O my soul?'' --Ps. xiii. 5. To cast forth, to throw out, or eject, as from an inclosed place; to emit; to send out. To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of. To cast in one's teeth, to upbraid or abuse one for; to twin. To cast lots. See under Lot. To cast off. (a) To discard or reject; to drive away; to put off; to free one's self from. (b) (Hunting) To leave behind, as dogs; also, to set loose, or free, as dogs. --Crabb. (c) (Naut.) To untie, throw off, or let go, as a rope. To cast off copy, (Print.), to estimate how much printed matter a given amount of copy will make, or how large the page must be in order that the copy may make a given number of pages. To cast one's self on or upon to yield or submit one's self unreservedly to, as to the mercy of another. To cast out, to throw out; to eject, as from a house; to cast forth; to expel; to utter. To cast the lead (Naut.), to sound by dropping the lead to the bottom. To cast the water (Med.), to examine the urine for signs of disease. [Obs.]. To cast up. (a) To throw up; to raise. (b) To compute; to reckon, as the cost. (c) To vomit. (d) To twit with; to throw in one's teeth.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cast Cast (k[.a]st), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cast; p. pr. & vb. n. Casting.] [Cf. Dan. kaste, Icel. & Sw. kasta; perh. akin to L. gerere to bear, carry. E. jest.] 1. To send or drive by force; to throw; to fling; to hurl; to impel. Uzziah prepared . . . slings to cast stones. --2 Chron. xxvi. 14. Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. --Acts. xii. 8. We must be cast upon a certain island. --Acts. xxvii. 26. 2. To direct or turn, as the eyes. How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! --Shak. 3. To drop; to deposit; as, to cast a ballot. 4. To throw down, as in wrestling. --Shak. 5. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart. Thine enemies shall cast a trench [bank] about thee. --Luke xix. 48. 6. To throw off; to eject; to shed; to lose. His filth within being cast. --Shak. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit. --Mal. iii. 11 The creatures that cast the skin are the snake, the viper, etc. --Bacon. 7. To bring forth prematurely; to slink. Thy she-goats have not cast their young. --Gen. xxi. 38. 8. To throw out or emit; to exhale. [Obs.] This . . . casts a sulphureous smell. --Woodward. 9. To cause to fall; to shed; to reflect; to throw; as, to cast a ray upon a screen; to cast light upon a subject. 10. To impose; to bestow; to rest. The government I cast upon my brother. --Shak. Cast thy burden upon the Lord. --Ps. iv. 22. 11. To dismiss; to discard; to cashier. [Obs.] The state can not with safety cast him. 12. To compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast a horoscope. ``Let it be cast and paid.'' --Shak. You cast the event of war, my noble lord. --Shak. 13. To contrive; to plan. [Archaic] The cloister . . . had, I doubt not, been cast for [an orange-house]. --Sir W. Temple. 14. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict; as, to be cast in damages. She was cast to be hanged. --Jeffrey. Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. --Dr. H. More. 15. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide; as, a casting voice. How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious! --South. 16. To form into a particular shape, by pouring liquid metal or other material into a mold; to fashion; to found; as, to cast bells, stoves, bullets. 17. (Print.) To stereotype or electrotype. 18. To fix, distribute, or allot, as the parts of a play among actors; also to assign (an actor) for a part. Our parts in the other world will be new cast. --Addison. To cast anchor (Naut.) See under Anchor. To cast a horoscope, to calculate it. To cast a horse, sheep, or other animal, to throw with the feet upwards, in such a manner as to prevent its rising again. To cast a shoe, to throw off or lose a shoe, said of a horse or ox. To cast aside, to throw or push aside; to neglect; to reject as useless or inconvenient. To cast away. (a) To throw away; to lavish; to waste. ``Cast away a life'' --Addison. (b) To reject; to let perish. ``Cast away his people.'' --Rom. xi. 1. ``Cast one away.'' --Shak. (c) To wreck. ``Cast away and sunk.'' --Shak. To cast by, to reject; to dismiss or discard; to throw away. To cast down, to throw down; to destroy; to deject or depress, as the mind. ``Why art thou cast down. O my soul?'' --Ps. xiii. 5. To cast forth, to throw out, or eject, as from an inclosed place; to emit; to send out. To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of. To cast in one's teeth, to upbraid or abuse one for; to twin. To cast lots. See under Lot. To cast off. (a) To discard or reject; to drive away; to put off; to free one's self from. (b) (Hunting) To leave behind, as dogs; also, to set loose, or free, as dogs. --Crabb. (c) (Naut.) To untie, throw off, or let go, as a rope. To cast off copy, (Print.), to estimate how much printed matter a given amount of copy will make, or how large the page must be in order that the copy may make a given number of pages. To cast one's self on or upon to yield or submit one's self unreservedly to, as to the mercy of another. To cast out, to throw out; to eject, as from a house; to cast forth; to expel; to utter. To cast the lead (Naut.), to sound by dropping the lead to the bottom. To cast the water (Med.), to examine the urine for signs of disease. [Obs.]. To cast up. (a) To throw up; to raise. (b) To compute; to reckon, as the cost. (c) To vomit. (d) To twit with; to throw in one's teeth.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cast Cast, 3d pres. of Cast, for Casteth. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cast Cast, n. [Cf. Icel., Dan., & Sw. kast.] 1. The act of casting or throwing; a throw. 2. The thing thrown. A cast of dreadful dust. --Dryden. 3. The distance to which a thing is or can be thrown. ``About a stone's cast.'' --Luke xxii. 41. 4. A throw of dice; hence, a chance or venture. An even cast whether the army should march this way or that way. --Sowth. I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die. --Shak. 5. That which is throw out or off, shed, or ejected; as, the skin of an insect, the refuse from a hawk's stomach, the excrement of a earthworm. 6. The act of casting in a mold. And why such daily cast of brazen cannon. --Shak. 7. An impression or mold, taken from a thing or person; amold; a pattern. 8. That which is formed in a mild; esp. a reproduction or copy, as of a work of art, in bronze or plaster, etc.; a casting. 9. Form; appearence; mien; air; style; as, a peculiar cast of countenance. ``A neat cast of verse.'' --Pope. An heroic poem, but in another cast and figure. --Prior. And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought. --Shak. 10. A tendency to any color; a tinge; a shade. Gray with a cast of green. --Woodward. 11. A chance, opportunity, privilege, or advantage; specifically, an opportunity of riding; a lift. [Scotch] We bargained with the driver to give us a cast to the next stage. --Smollett. If we had the cast o' a cart to bring it. --Sir W. Scott. 12. The assignment of parts in a play to the actors. 13. (Falconary) A flight or a couple or set of hawks let go at one time from the hand. --Grabb. As when a cast of falcons make their flight. --Spenser. 14. A stoke, touch, or trick. [Obs.] This was a cast of Wood's politics; for his information was wholly false. --Swift. 15. A motion or turn, as of the eye; direction; look; glance; squint. The cast of the eye is a gesture of aversion. --Bacon. And let you see with one cast of an eye. --Addison. This freakish, elvish cast came into the child's eye. --Hawthorne. 16. A tube or funnel for conveying metal into a mold. 17. Four; that is, as many as are thrown into a vessel at once in counting herrings, etc; a warp. 18. Contrivance; plot, design. [Obs.] --Chaucer. A cast of the eye, a slight squint or strabismus. Renal cast (Med.), microscopic bodies found in the urine of persons affected with disease of the kidneys; -- so called because they are formed of matter deposited in, and preserving the outline of, the renal tubes. The last cast, the last throw of the dice or last effort, on which every thing is ventured; the last chance.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cast Cast, v. i. 1. To throw, as a line in angling, esp, with a fly hook. 2. (Naut.) To turn the head of a vessel around from the wind in getting under weigh. Weigh anchor, cast to starboard. --Totten. 3. To consider; to turn or revolve in the mind; to plan; as, to cast about for reasons. She . . . cast in her mind what manner of salution this should be. --Luke. i. 29. 4. To calculate; to compute. [R.] Who would cast and balance at a desk. --Tennyson. 5. To receive form or shape in a mold. It will not run thin, so as to cast and mold. --Woodward. 6. To warp; to become twisted out of shape. Stuff is said to cast or warp when . . . it alters its flatness or straightness. --Moxon. 7. To vomit. These verses . . . make me ready to cast. --B. Jonson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gun Gun, n. [OE. gonne, gunne; of uncertain origin; cf. Ir., Gael.) A LL. gunna, W. gum; possibly (like cannon) fr. L. canna reed, tube; or abbreviated fr. OF. mangonnel, E. mangonel, a machine for hurling stones.] 1. A weapon which throws or propels a missile to a distance; any firearm or instrument for throwing projectiles by the explosion of gunpowder, consisting of a tube or barrel closed at one end, in which the projectile is placed, with an explosive charge behind, which is ignited by various means. Muskets, rifles, carbines, and fowling pieces are smaller guns, for hand use, and are called small arms. Larger guns are called cannon, ordnance, fieldpieces, carronades, howitzers, etc. See these terms in the Vocabulary. As swift as a pellet out of a gunne When fire is in the powder runne. --Chaucer. The word gun was in use in England for an engine to cast a thing from a man long before there was any gunpowder found out. --Selden. 2. (Mil.) A piece of heavy ordnance; in a restricted sense, a cannon. 3. pl. (Naut.) Violent blasts of wind. Note: Guns are classified, according to their construction or manner of loading as rifled or smoothbore, breech-loading or muzzle-loading, cast or built-up guns; or according to their use, as field, mountain, prairie, seacoast, and siege guns. Armstrong gun, a wrought iron breech-loading cannon named after its English inventor, Sir William Armstrong. Great gun, a piece of heavy ordnance; hence (Fig.), a person superior in any way. Gun barrel, the barrel or tube of a gun. Gun carriage, the carriage on which a gun is mounted or moved. Gun cotton (Chem.), a general name for a series of explosive nitric ethers of cellulose, obtained by steeping cotton in nitric and sulphuric acids. Although there are formed substances containing nitric acid radicals, yet the results exactly resemble ordinary cotton in appearance. It burns without ash, with explosion if confined, but quietly and harmlessly if free and open, and in small quantity. Specifically, the lower nitrates of cellulose which are insoluble in ether and alcohol in distinction from the highest (pyroxylin) which is soluble. See Pyroxylin, and cf. Xyloidin. The gun cottons are used for blasting and somewhat in gunnery: for making celluloid when compounded with camphor; and the soluble variety (pyroxylin) for making collodion. See Celluloid, and Collodion. Gun cotton is frequenty but improperly called nitrocellulose. It is not a nitro compound, but an ethereal salt of nitric acid. Gun deck. See under Deck. Gun fire, the time at which the morning or the evening gun is fired. Gun metal, a bronze, ordinarily composed of nine parts of copper and one of tin, used for cannon, etc. The name is also given to certain strong mixtures of cast iron. Gun port (Naut.), an opening in a ship through which a cannon's muzzle is run out for firing. Gun tackle (Naut.), the blocks and pulleys affixed to the side of a ship, by which a gun carriage is run to and from the gun port. Gun tackle purchase (Naut.), a tackle composed of two single blocks and a fall. --Totten. Krupp gun, a wrought steel breech-loading cannon, named after its German inventor, Herr Krupp. Machine gun, a breech-loading gun or a group of such guns, mounted on a carriage or other holder, and having a reservoir containing cartridges which are loaded into the gun or guns and fired in rapid succession, sometimes in volleys, by machinery operated by turning a crank. Several hundred shots can be fired in a minute with accurate aim. The Gatling gun, Gardner gun, Hotchkiss gun, and Nordenfelt gun, named for their inventors, and the French mitrailleuse, are machine guns. To blow great guns (Naut.), to blow a gale. See Gun, n., 3.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(casts, casting) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Note: The form 'cast' is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle. 1. The cast of a play or film is all the people who act in it. The show is very amusing and the cast are very good. N-COUNT-COLL 2. To cast an actor in a play or film means to choose them to act a particular role in it. The world premiere of Harold Pinter's new play casts Ian Holm in the lead role... He was cast as a college professor... He had no trouble casting the movie. VERB: V n in/as n, V n in/as n, V n • casting ...the casting director of Ealing film studios. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n, N n 3. To cast someone in a particular way or as a particular thing means to describe them in that way or suggest they are that thing. Democrats have been worried about being cast as the party of the poor... Holland would never dare cast himself as a virtuoso pianist. VERB: V n as/in n, V pron-refl as/in n 4. If you cast your eyes or cast a look in a particular direction, you look quickly in that direction. (WRITTEN) He cast a stern glance at the two men... I cast my eyes down briefly... The maid, casting black looks, hurried out. VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv, V n 5. If something casts a light or shadow somewhere, it causes it to appear there. (WRITTEN) The moon cast a bright light over the yard... They flew in over the beach, casting a huge shadow. VERB: V n prep, V n 6. To cast doubt on something means to cause people to be unsure about it. Last night a top criminal psychologist cast doubt on the theory. VERB: V n on n 7. When you cast your vote in an election, you vote. About ninety-five per cent of those who cast their votes approve the new constitution... Gaviria had been widely expected to obtain well over half the votes cast. VERB: V n, V-ed 8. To cast something or someone somewhere means to throw them there. (LITERARY) Any true lover casting a pin into the fountain and gazing into it will see his or her future partner... John had Maude and her son cast into a dungeon. VERB: V n prep, have n V-ed prep 9. To cast an object means to make it by pouring a liquid such as hot metal into a specially shaped container and leaving it there until it becomes hard. ...sculptures cast in bronze. VERB: V-ed in n 10. A cast is a model that has been made by pouring a liquid such as plaster or hot metal onto something or into something, so that when it hardens it has the same shape as that thing. An orthodontist took a cast of the inside of Billy's mouth. N-COUNT: oft N of n 11. A cast is the same as a plaster cast. N-COUNT 12. see also casting 13. to cast aspersions: see aspersions the die is cast: see die to cast your mind back: see mind to cast your net wider: see net

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

In general "to throw," with various degrees of violence; usually, with force, but not so necessarily, as e.g. in "cast a net," "cast lots." When applied to molten metal, as in English, first, "to let run. into molds," with reference to their descent by gravity, and, then, "to form," as in Ex 25:12, etc. Usually in the New Testament for ballo, but not always. Thus, in Lu 1:29 "cast in her mind" means "considered" (dielogizeto); "cast reproach" for Greek oneidizon, "reproached" (Mt 27:44); "casting down" for kathaireo, "demolishing" (2Co 10:4); "casting all anxiety upon" (1Pe 5:7), a still stronger term, as in Lu 17:2 the King James Version; Ac 27:19. As a fundamental Greek word, it is compounded with many prepositions, "about," "away," "down," "forth," "in," "into," "off," "out," "up," "upon." "Cast down" in 2Co 4:9 the King James Version is used in a military sense of one prostrated, but not killed in battle. Compare Ps 42:5 with the Revised Version, margin. "Castaway" of the King James Version in 1Co 9:27, is in the Revised Version (British and American) "rejected" (compare Hebrews 6:8), adokimos, i.e. what the application of a test shows to be counterfeit, or unfit; translated "reprobate" in Ro 1:28; 2Co 13:5,6,7, etc.

H. E. Jacobs

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Throw, fling, hurl, send, toss, pitch, sling, shy (colloq.). 2. Drive, impel, force, thrust. 3. Shed, put off, lay aside. 4. Compute, reckon, calculate. 5. Found, form in a mould. 6. Assign, allot, appoint, apportion, appropriate. 7. Direct, turn. 8. Impart, communicate, throw, shed, diffuse. II. n. 1. Throw, fling, toss. 2. Tinge, tint, shade, touch. 3. Manner, style, air, mien, look, turn, tone, character. 4. Mould, form. 5. Assignment of parts.

Moby Thesaurus

Ace bandage, Band-Aid, Platonic form, Platonic idea, a thing for, abandon, abdicate, about ship, account, achromatism, acting company, actor, add, address, adhesive tape, aesthetic form, affinity, age group, aggregate, aim, air, algebraize, amount, animus, antagonist, antihero, application, appoint, aptitude, aptness, archetype, aroma, arrange, arrangement, art form, assemble, assembled, assign, attribute, back and fill, badge, band, bandage, bandaging, barf, battalion, be confined, bear, bear a child, bear away, bear off, bear to starboard, bear young, bearing, beat, beat about, bent, bevy, bias, binder, bit, bit part, blaze, blink, block out, blood, blueprint, body, body-build, boot out, born, bounce, bowl, box off, box score, brace, brand, break, breed, brigade, bring about, bring round, bring up, broadcast, bronze, brow, build, built, bullion, bunch, bung, burn, burn in, burn off, button, cabal, cachet, calculate, calve, calved, cant, cant round, carriage, carve, cashier, cast about, cast aside, cast at, cast away, cast of characters, cast of countenance, cast off, cast out, casting, cataplasm, catapult, cauterize, change course, change of pace, change the heading, change-up, char, character, characteristic, characteristics, characters, chart, chase, chisel, choose, chorus, chromatism, chromism, chuck, chuck at, chuck out, chunk, cipher, circus troupe, clan, clap, class, clique, coal, cohort, color, color balance, color harmony, color scheme, coloration, coloring, come about, company, complement, complexion, compose, composition, compound, compress, compute, conatus, concert, concoct, conduciveness, configuration, conformation, constituents, constitution, construct, constructed, contingent, contrive, convergent strabismus, corps, corps de ballet, coterie, cotton, count, countenance, court plaster, covey, crack, crafted, crap, craps, crasis, cravat, create, created, crew, cross-eye, cross-eyedness, crowd, cue, cupel, curve, custom, custom-built, custom-made, cut, cut out, dart, dash, decorator color, deep-six, defenestrate, delegate, delight, demeanor, denomination, description, design, designate, designation, desquamation, detachment, detail, detrude, devise, dharma, diathesis, die, difference, differentia, differential, discard, discharge, disgorge, dismiss, disperse, dispose of, disposition, distinctive feature, distribute, ditch, divide, division, doff, dope out, double a point, downcurve, dramatis personae, dressing, drive out, drop, dropped, dump, eagerness, earmark, eccentricity, efform, eight, eighty-six, eject, elaborate, elastic bandage, eleven, eliminate, engrave, ensemble, epithem, erect, esotropia, estimate, ethos, evict, evolve, exclude, exile, exotropia, expel, expression, extract roots, extracted, extrude, exuviae, exuviate, fabricate, fabricated, face, facial appearance, faction, farrow, fashion, fashioned, fastball, fat part, favor, fawn, feather, feature, features, feeder, feeling for, fetch about, fiber, figuration, figure, figure in, figure out, fire, fire at, first string, first team, five, fix, flame, flash, flavor, fleet, fling, fling at, flip, foal, foaled, foot, forecast, foretelling, forge, forged, fork, form, formalize, format, formation, formed, formulate, formulation, forward pass, found, four-tailed bandage, frame, fudge together, gang, garb, gate, gathered, gauze, genius, genre, genus, get quit of, get rid of, get shut of, get up, give away, give birth, give the hook, given birth, giving birth, glance, gleam, glimpse, go about, grain, grave, group, grouping, groupment, grown, guise, gust, gybe, habit, half an eye, hallmark, handcrafted, handmade, harvested, hatched, have, have a baby, have young, heave, heave at, heave out, heave round, heavy, hero, heroine, heterotropia, hew, hint, homemade, homespun, hue, humor, humors, hurl, hurl against, hurl at, hurtle, idea, idiocrasy, idiosyncrasy, ilk, impress, impression, in-group, inclination, incline, incurve, index, indite, individualism, 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bandage, tribe, trick, troop, tropism, troupe, turn, turn back, turn of mind, turn out, twist, type, undercolor, upchuck, upcurve, upward strabismus, variety, varsity, veer, vein, vesicate, villain, visage, vulcanize, walk-on, walking part, walleye, warp, way, weakness, wear, wear ship, weird, weld, well-built, well-constructed, well-made, whelp, whelped, whole, whomp up, willingness, wind, wing, wink, work, work out, work up, write, x number, yaw, yean, yield