- To cast a
- 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.
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Uzziah prepared . . . slings to cast stones. --2 Chron. xxvi. 14. [1913 Webster]
Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. --Acts. xii. 8. [1913 Webster]
We must be cast upon a certain island. --Acts. xxvii. 26. [1913 Webster]
2. To direct or turn, as the eyes. [1913 Webster]
How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. To drop; to deposit; as, to cast a ballot. [1913 Webster]
4. To throw down, as in wrestling. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
5. To throw up, as a mound, or rampart. [1913 Webster]
Thine enemies shall cast a trench [bank] about thee. --Luke xix. 48. [1913 Webster]
6. To throw off; to eject; to shed; to lose. [1913 Webster]
His filth within being cast. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Neither shall your vine cast her fruit. --Mal. iii. 11 [1913 Webster]
The creatures that cast the skin are the snake, the viper, etc. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
7. To bring forth prematurely; to slink. [1913 Webster]
Thy she-goats have not cast their young. --Gen. xxi. 38. [1913 Webster]
8. To throw out or emit; to exhale. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
This . . . casts a sulphureous smell. --Woodward. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
10. To impose; to bestow; to rest. [1913 Webster]
The government I cast upon my brother. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Cast thy burden upon the Lord. --Ps. iv. 22. [1913 Webster]
11. To dismiss; to discard; to cashier. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
The state can not with safety cast him. [1913 Webster]
12. To compute; to reckon; to calculate; as, to cast a horoscope. ``Let it be cast and paid.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
You cast the event of war, my noble lord. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
13. To contrive; to plan. [Archaic] [1913 Webster]
The cloister . . . had, I doubt not, been cast for [an orange-house]. --Sir W. Temple. [1913 Webster]
14. To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict; as, to be cast in damages. [1913 Webster]
She was cast to be hanged. --Jeffrey. [1913 Webster]
Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. --Dr. H. More. [1913 Webster]
15. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide; as, a casting voice. [1913 Webster]
How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious! --South. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
17. (Print.) To stereotype or electrotype. [1913 Webster]
18. To fix, distribute, or allot, as the parts of a play among actors; also to assign (an actor) for a part. [1913 Webster]
Our parts in the other world will be new cast. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
{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 {To cast one's self 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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
