Search results for 'cast':

cast verb (past tense, past participle cast, present participle casting) 1 to throw. 2 to direct (one's eyes, a glance, etc) on or over something. 3 to throw off or shed something • She cast her clothes in a heap. 4 to project; to cause to appear • cast a shadow. 5 tr & intr to throw (a fishing-line) out into the water. 6 to let down (an anchor). 7 to release someone or something from a secured state • They were cast adrift. 8 said of animals: to get rid of or shed (a skin, horns, etc). 9 (usually cast something off, aside or out) to throw it off or away; to get rid of it. 10 to give (an actor) a part in a play or film; to distribute the parts in a film, play, etc. 11 to shape (molten metal, plastic, etc) by pouring it into a mould and allowing it to set. 12 to give or record (one's vote). 13 to work out (a horoscope). 14 to present (work, facts, etc) in a certain way. noun 1 a throw; an act of throwing (eg dice, a fishing-line). 2 an object shaped by pouring metal, plastic, etc, into a mould and allowing it to set. 3 (also plaster cast) a rigid casing, usually of gauze impregnated with plaster of Paris, moulded round a broken limb or other body part while the plaster is still wet, and then allowed to set in order to hold the broken bone in place while it heals. 4 the set of actors or performers in a play, opera, etc. 5 formal type, form, shape or appearance. 6 a slight tinge; a faint colour. 7 the slight turning inwards of an eye; a squint. 8 (also casting) a coiled heap of earth or sand thrown up by a burrowing worm, etc. cast doubt on something to express doubt about it. cast of mind a way of thinking. cast one's mind back to think about something in the past.
ETYMOLOGY: 13c: from Norse kasta to throw.