👥 Group of actors ➡️ To throw or send 🎭 To assign roles 🗳️ To submit a vote 🦴 A hard cover ⚒️ To shape by pouring 🧥 To remove 🎲 To choose randomly 📺 To stream media 🙂 Shape or form 🗿 A shaped object 🤢 To vomit 🧊 A mold container 🎣 Throwing a line 🏹 A strong throw 🎲 Throwing dice

to cast

31 6.1

To choose by chance, for example by drawing lots

verb
/kæst/

Archaic

: echar a suertes

The soldiers cast lots to see who would get his cloak.
cast lots
cast a die

Examples

The committee decided to cast votes to elect a new president.
We're all free to cast our lot with one side or the other.

Witchcraft II: The Temptress (1990)
In a few moments, we will cast our votes for the lodge officers.

Fiction book (1994)
In the Hapsburg territories, they cast their lot with the Westernizers and did poorly.

Academic text (1991)
To determine the winner, we will cast lots among all the contestants.
During the meeting, they agreed to cast their lot with Team A for the upcoming project.

Synonyms

to draw

vsto cast

354 3.1

Choose something by chance, like a card from a deck

selects specifically by random methods such as using lots

Idioms

to cast the first stone

Literature

6 7.7

To be the first to criticize someone when you have the same fault

to cast a pall

4 8.2

Make a meeting or event feel gloomy and sad

to cast a shadow

4 6.2

Make a person, event, or situation seem less happy and less hopeful

to cast a wider net

3 4.2

To look in more places to find someone or something

to cast a chill

8.2

Make people feel uneasy, disappointed or uncomfortable

to cast bread upon the waters

Archaic

9.9

Do something kind without expecting anything back, hoping it helps later

cast in concrete

6.7

Fixed and not able to be changed

to cast in someone's teeth

Informal

9.9

To hurt someone by reminding them of an embarrassing thing they did

to cast pearls before swine

Literature

9.5

To give something valuable to people who do not appreciate it

to cast up one's accounts

9.3

To add up the money someone gets and spends to find the total

Phrasal Verbs

to cast a spell

Literature

38 7.4

Use words or actions to make a magical change

to cast out

31 6.2

Force someone to leave a group or place because others reject them

to cast your vote

19 3.1

Give your choice in an election or official decision

to cast doubt

17 4.6

Make people feel unsure if something is true

to cast aside

Informal

11 3.7

Reject or ignore people and things you no longer want

to cast away

4 4.1

To throw away things you no longer want

to cast about

3 7.2

To look around or think hard to find something you need

to cast off

3 4.8

To get rid of something you do not want or need

to cast the net

2 3.2

Throw a fishing net into the water to catch fish

to cast one's mind back

2 6.3

Think about something that happened in the past to remember it

to cast around

1 5.6

To look in a worried way for an idea or solution

to cast down

1 6.3

To make someone feel sad or discouraged

to cast off

Jargon

1 8.2

To finish the last row of knitting so the stitches do not come undone

to cast anchor

1 3.1

To lower an anchor from a boat or ship to hold it in place

to cast loose

1 6.7

To free something by letting go of ties or limits

to cast on

Jargon

1 6.9

To make the first row of stitches on a needle when you start knitting

to sand cast

Specialized

6.6

Make a metal object by pouring liquid metal into a sand mold

Compounds

cast of characters

14 3.4

A group of actors who perform in a play or film

cast iron

Specialized

12 3.7

A very hard but brittle metal made by melting iron and pouring it into molds

plaster cast

Specialized

3 3.1

A hard shell of plaster that keeps a broken bone still while it heals

cast-off

1 4.5

A thing, often clothing, that someone has thrown away

Caucasian cast

6.9

A group of actors who are mostly white

cast-iron plant

7.2

A very hardy houseplant that has long green leaves and needs little care

alloy cast iron

Specialized

6.0

A type of cast iron made by adding other metals to make it stronger and resist wear

leaf cast

9.9

A disease of evergreen trees like pines that makes their needles fall early

needle cast

Specialized

7.9

A disease of pine and spruce trees that makes their needles turn brown and fall early

soft-cast steel

Specialized

5.1

Steel with very little carbon that is easy to shape

Surface Forms

cast infinitive

cast past

cast past participle

casting present participle

casts third person singular

Etymology

Cast in 'cast lots' comes from the old German kast 'to throw', because people used to 'throw' sticks, stones, or lots to decide things at random. So to cast lots is to choose by throwing items and seeing the result.