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Glite Dictionary
to throw back

to throw back

12 5.8
Move something quickly backward, like your head or a cup
  • phrasal verb
  • /θroʊ bæk/
translation icon : echar la cabeza hacia atrás
  • Mo is running, breathing hard, his head thrown back, his coat fluttering around him.
  • head thrown back
  • shoulders thrown back
  • threw back the covers

Bodies arced in laughter, mouths agape, heads thrown back.

Examples

  • In another minute he said, "Much obliged," then threw back his side of the cover and sat up.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Chuck flopped into a chair, threw back his head, and cursed in violent anger.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Their eyes were closed, and their heads were thrown back against the seats.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • After Bobby is far enough away, she takes it off, laughing aloud, her head thrown back.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Sometimes Mama threw back her head and screamed with laughter until her nose and eyes ran.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "A good habit to be in," Lan said, throwing back his cloak.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Young Bull threw back his head and howled with her, mourned with her.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Laughing loudly, he throws back his head for a long draught of mead.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • He bows to the fiddlers and sashes backwards and throws back his head and laughs deep in his throat.

  • He threw back his head and let out a great laugh at the joke.

Synonyms

toss
vsto throw back
7 2.0

A quick movement of the head or body

focuses on a sudden backward tilt rather than any quick movement
to toss back
vsto throw back
1 4.9

Move your head or hair quickly back

tilts the body backward and also applies when taking a drink

How Fast

fling
9 3.2
jerk
7 2.2
to throw back
12 5.8
to lean back
66 2.2
to tilt
147 2.0

Surface Forms

throw back infinitive
throwing back present participle
throws back third person singular
threw back past
thrown back past participle

Morphology

throw + back

The literal sense 'propel/move backwards' follows directly from combining 'throw' (propel) with 'back' (toward behind), so learners who know the constituents will likely infer uses like 'throw back your head'. However, the extension to beverages ('throw back a drink' = gulp or drink quickly) is a metaphorical/idiomatic use that is not fully predictable from the parts and may not be obvious to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

Throw back comes from the simple picture of quickly throwing something back, like tilting your head or a glass quickly backward. So it now means 'to move or tilt suddenly backwards'.