Cast — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈkast/

Meaning & Definition of Cast

Cast (verb)

  1. to cause to move or send forth by throwing
  2. direct
  3. to put forth

Cast (noun)

  1. an act of casting
  2. something that happens as a result of chance
  3. a throw of dice

Cast (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to throw or give off

    "spermaceti candles, made from whale oil, are known to cast an exceptionally bright light"

    similar: discharge, emanate, emit, evolve, exhale, expel, expire (archaic), give out, irradiate, issue, radiate, release, send (out), shoot, throw out, vent
    related: eliminate, evacuate, excrete, exude, ooze, secrete, eject, erupt, gush, jet, outpour, pour, spew, spout, spray, spurt, squirt
    near: absorb, inhale, soak (up), sponge, suck (up), take up

  2. to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal

    "cast her eyes skyward for signs of the rescue plane"

    similar: aim, bend, direct, head, hold, level, pinpoint, set, train
    related: sight, bear, face, concentrate, focus, incline, orient, steer
    near: avert, curve, deflect, detour, divert, rechannel, shunt, sidetrack

  3. to put (something) into proper and usually carefully worked out written form

    "carefully cast the letter of complaint as politely as possible"

    similar: compose, craft, draft, draw up, formulate, frame, prepare, put together
    related: fabricate, fashion, form, mold, sculpture, shape, couch, express, phrase, state, verbalize, word, author, indite, pen, write, conceive, concoct, devise, build, construct, make, assemble, compound, piece (together), redraft, reformulate, reframe

  4. to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm

    "cast a rock into the stream"

    similar: catapult, chuck, dash, fire, fling, heave, hurl, hurtle, launch, lob, loft, peg, pelt, pitch, sling, throw, toss, let fly
    related: bowl, dart, flip, gun, hook, pass, roll, shoot, buck, eject, impel, precipitate, project, propel, rifle, thrust

Cast (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a declaration that something will happen in the future

    "stock market analysts offered an optimistic cast for the coming year"

    similar: auguring, augury, bodement, forecast, forecasting, foretelling, predicting, prediction, presaging, prognosis, prognostic, prognosticating, prognostication, prophecy, soothsaying, vaticination
    related: foreboding, harbinger, omen, portent, prevision, prospectus, sign, anticipation, foreknowledge, foresight, conjecture, guess, surmise

  2. a property that becomes apparent when light falls on an object and by which things that are identical in form can be distinguished

    "the walls had a slight yellowish cast"

    similar: color, hue, shade, tincture, tinge, tint, tone
    related: overtone, undertone, primary color, secondary color, tertiary color, brightness, chroma, chromaticity, contrast, lightness, saturation, value, coloration, coloring, colorway, pigmentation
    near: achromatism

  3. an instance of looking especially briefly

    "a mischievous cast in his eye when we asked what our destination would be"

    similar: eye, gander, glance, glimpse, look, peek, peep, regard, sight, view
    related: gape, gaze, glare, leer, ogle, stare, side-glance, squinny, squint, coup d'oeil

  4. facial appearance regarded as an indication of mood or feeling

    "his face took on a somewhat sad cast when we asked how his ill wife was faring"

    similar: countenance, expression, face, look, visage
    related: frown, grimace, lower, mouth, pout, scowl, grin, smile, air, appearance, aspect, bearing, demeanor, manner, mien, presence

  5. the outward appearance of something as distinguished from its substance

    "the lovely cast of the baby's features"

    similar: configuration, conformation, fashion, figure, form, geometry, shape
    related: contour, outline, profile, silhouette, frame, framework, shell, skeleton, arrangement, design, format, layout, makeup, organization, pattern, plan, setup
    near: composition, material, matter, raw material, stuff, substance

Related Entry: Cast (off) (verb)

Cast (off) is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast (off), not for cast.

  1. to get rid of as useless or unwanted

    "once she became rich and didn't need them anymore, she cast off all her old friends like so much junk"

    similar: cashier, chuck, deep-six, discard, ditch, dump, eighty-six, exorcise, fling (off or away), jettison, junk, lay by, lose, pitch, reject, scrap, shed, shuck (off), slough (off), throw away, throw out, toss, unload, dispose of, set aside
    related: abandon, abdicate, desert, forsake, dismiss, kick out, abolish, annihilate, eliminate, eradicate, expunge, exterminate, extinguish, extirpate, liquidate, remove, root (out), stamp (out), wipe out
    near: adopt, embrace, take on, employ, use, utilize, hold, hold back, keep, retain

Related Entry: Cast (up) (verb)

Cast (up) is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast (up), not for cast.

  1. to combine (numbers) into a single sum

    "had worked as a clerk in a countinghouse, mainly casting up long columns of figures every day"

    similar: add, foot (up), sum, summate, tot (up), total, totalize, tote (up), put together
    related: calculate, cipher, compute, figure, reckon, table, tabulate, tally, work out, count, enumerate, number, tell, recompute, refigure

Related Entry: Cast about (for) (verb)

Cast about (for) is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast about (for), not for cast.

  1. to go in search of

    "cast about for an answer to the question of why so many people had ignored the victim's cries for help"

    similar: cast around (for), chase (down), forage (for), hunt, look up, pursue, quest, search (for or out), seek, shop (for), look for
    related: ferret (out), root (out)
    near: hide, lose, ignore, neglect

Related Entry: Cast around (for) (verb)

Cast around (for) is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast around (for), not for cast.

  1. to go in search of

    "cast around for a last minute replacement for the lead actor in the movie"

    similar: cast about (for), chase (down), forage (for), hunt, look up, pursue, quest, search (for or out), seek, shop (for), look for
    related: ferret (out), root (out)
    near: hide, lose, ignore, neglect

Related Entry: Cast down (adjective)

Cast down is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast down, not for cast.

  1. feeling unhappiness

    "newly widowed, he was cast down at the thought of being alone once again"

    similar: bad, blue, brokenhearted, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, doleful, down, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, droopy, forlorn, gloomy, glum, hangdog, heartbroken, heartsick, heartsore, heavyhearted, inconsolable, joyless, low, low-spirited, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, mournful, sad, saddened, sorrowful, sorry, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, wretched
    related: aggrieved, distressed, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, worried, despairing, hopeless, sunk, disappointed, discouraged, disheartened, dispirited, suicidal, dolorous, lachrymose, lugubrious, plaintive, tearful, regretful, rueful, agonized, anguished, grieving, wailing, weeping, black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, desolate, dismal, drear, dreary, elegiac, funereal, gray, morbid, morose, murky, saturnine, somber, sullen
    opposite: blissful, buoyant, buoyed, cheerful, cheery, chipper, delighted, glad, gladdened, gladsome, gleeful, happy, joyful, joyous, jubilant, sunny, upbeat
    near: ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, overjoyed, rapturous, rhapsodic, blithe, blithesome, jocose, jocular, jocund, jolly, jovial, lightsome, merry, mirthful, excited, thrilled, hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine, encouraged, heartened, animated, bouncing, energetic, frisky, jaunty, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightful, sprightly, springy, vital, vivacious, zippy, content, gratified, pleased, satisfied, beaming, grinning, laughing, smiling, boon, carefree, careless, cavalier, devil-may-care, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, lighthearted, unconcerned

Related Entry: Cast-iron (adjective)

Cast-iron is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast-iron, not for cast.

  1. not allowing for any exceptions or loosening of standards

    "lost weight only after a cast-iron adherence to his diet"

    similar: brassbound, exacting, hard-line, inflexible, rigid, rigorous, strict, stringent, uncompromising
    related: close, conscientious, exact, fussy, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious, scrupulous, undeviating, adamant, adamantine, determined, dogged, firm, relentless, resolved, single-minded, steadfast, stubborn, tenacious, unbending, unflinching, immovable, implacable, unappeasable, unrelenting, unsparing, unyielding, austere, demanding, flinty, grim, hard, hardened, hard-hearted, harsh, ironbound, severe, stern, tough
    opposite: flexible, lax, loose, relaxed, slack
    near: acquiescent, compliant, compromising, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding, easy, easygoing, gentle, indulgent, kindly, lenient, merciful, mild, pampering, soft, spoiling, tolerant, neglectful, negligent, remiss, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly, unfussy

  2. able to withstand hardship, strain, or exposure

    "he has a cast-iron faith in his innate ability to overcome any adversity that life might throw against him"

    similar: hard, hard-bitten, hardened, hardy, inured, rugged, stout, strong, sturdy, tough, toughened, vigorous
    related: flinty, leathery, resilient, stalwart, durable, enduring, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, stable, staunch, staying, tenacious, unyielding, flourishing, prospering, thriving, able-bodied, brawny, muscular, fit, fortified, hale, healthy, husky, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sound, strapping, virile, annealed, seasoned, tempered
    opposite: delicate, nonhardy, soft, tender, weak
    near: emasculated, enervated, enfeebled, exhausted, run-down, sapped, wasted, weakened, worn, worn-out, crippled, debilitated, diseased, incapacitated, infirm, unsound, fragile, frail, puny, resistless, sensitive, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding, mortal, perishable, temporary, transient

Related Entry: Cast out (verb)

Cast out is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast out, not for cast.

  1. to drive or force out

    "cast them out of the tribe for violating sacred traditions"

    similar: banish, boot (out), bounce, chase, dismiss, drum (out), eject, expel, extrude, kick out, oust, out, rout, run off, throw out, turf (out) (chiefly British), turn out, give one the gate (slang), send packing
    related: deforce, deport, displace, dispossess, evict, exile, expatriate, ostracize, read out, shut out, ax, can, cashier, defenestrate, discharge, fire, muster out, pink-slip, release, remove, retire, sack, terminate
    near: accept, admit, receive, take, take in, welcome, entertain, harbor, house, lodge, shelter

Related Entry: Cast about (verb)

Cast about is a different word from Cast. The synonyms below are for cast about, not for cast.

  1. as in look, reach

    similar: hunt, look, reach, seek (out), grabble, capture, clutch, corral, get, grab, nab, nail, seize, snatch, feel, fish, fumble, grope, scrabble, comb, dig (through), dredge, rake, ransack, rifle, rummage, scour

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Cast

The most common words with a similar meaning to Cast:

Archaic: expire
discharge, emanate, emit, evolve, exhale, expel, give out, irradiate, issue, radiate, release, send (out), shoot, throw out, vent, aim, bend, direct, head, hold, level, pinpoint, set, train, compose, craft, draft, draw up, formulate, frame, prepare, catapult, chuck, dash, fire, fling, heave, hurl, hurtle, launch

Related Words for Cast

eliminate, evacuate, excrete, exude, ooze, secrete, eject, erupt, gush, jet, outpour, pour, spew, spout, spray, spurt, squirt, bear, concentrate, focus, incline, orient, steer, fabricate, mold, sculpture, couch, express, phrase, state

Near Antonyms of Cast

absorb, inhale, soak (up), sponge, suck (up), take up, avert, curve, deflect, detour, divert, rechannel, shunt, sidetrack, achromatism, composition, material, matter, raw material, stuff, substance

Word Forms of Cast

Inflections: casting

Derived words: castability (noun), castable (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Cast

Middle English, from Old Norse kasta; akin to Old Norse kǫs heap

First known use: 13th centuryt

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Cast

Words & Phrases Containing Cast

cast about, cast around, cast down, cast-iron, cast iron, cast lots, cast-off, cast off

Frequently Asked Questions about Cast

What does "Cast" mean?

"Cast" means to cause to move or send forth by throwing. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to cause to move or send forth by throwing. It has 9 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Cast"?

Other words for "Cast" include discharge, emanate, emit, evolve, exhale, expel, expire and give out. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Cast" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Cast"?

There are 228 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Cast". Common alternatives include discharge, emanate, emit, evolve, exhale, expel, expire, give out, irradiate and issue.

How do you use "Cast" in a sentence?

Examples of "Cast" in a sentence: "spermaceti candles, made from whale oil, are known to cast an exceptionally bright light"; "cast her eyes skyward for signs of the rescue plane"; "carefully cast the letter of complaint as politely as possible".

Is "Cast" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Cast" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Cast" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B2-level word, "Cast" is typical of Cambridge B2 First (FCE), IELTS band 5.5–6.5, TOEFL iBT 72–94, PTE Academic 59–75, TOEIC Listening & Reading 785+.

How do you pronounce "Cast"?

"Cast" is pronounced /ˈkast/.

What is the origin of the word "Cast"?

"Cast" comes from Middle English, from Old Norse kasta; akin to Old Norse kǫs heap. First known use: 13th centuryt.