throw away

Related to throw away: a stone's throw away

throw away

1. To discard or dispose of something; to get rid of something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "throw" and "away." He threw away the wrapper after he finished eating the candy bar. I can't believe you threw my mother's card away!
2. To waste, misuse, or mismanage. A noun or pronoun can be used between "throw" and "away." They threw away their lead in the second half of the game with a series of foolish, avoidable mistakes. It's great that you're earning a bit of money, but don't throw it away on stuff you don't need.
3. To fail to properly use or take advantage of something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "throw" and "away." With her grades, she could have gone to the top universities in the country, but she threw it away to go to New York to be an actor. The company is throwing away the goodwill of their customers with this horrible new subscription service.
4. To say or utter something casually, carelessly, or in an offhand manner. A noun or pronoun can be used between "throw" and "away." She threw away a remark that her son would be taking over the department. In its financial earnings report, the company's CEO threw the news away that they would be selling their mobile division.
5. In American football, to intentionally throw an incomplete pass. A noun or pronoun can be used between "throw" and "away." Realizing he was about to be tackled, the quarterback decided to throw it away.
See also: away, throw
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

throw something away

to toss something out; to dispose of something. Should I throw this away? Don't throw away anything that might be useful.
See also: away, throw
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

throw away

1. Also, throw or toss out . Dispose of, discard, as in This coat is too good to throw away, or Did you throw out the rest of the milk? or She tossed out all his old letters. [First half of 1500s]
2. Waste, fail to use, as in She's thrown away her inheritance on all kinds of foolish enterprises, or He's thrown away his chances for an engineering job. [Mid-1600s]
3. Also, throw out. Utter or perform in an offhand, seemingly careless way, as in He threw away the news that their summer cottage had been broken into, or She threw out some suggestions for changing the bylaws. [First half of 1900s]
See also: away, throw
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

throw away

v.
1. To get rid of something as useless; discard something: I threw away yesterday's newspaper. They gave us extra tickets, but we threw them away.
2. To fail to take advantage of something: They threw away a chance to make a fortune. The students had an opportunity for a great education, but they threw it away.
3. To waste or use something in a foolish way: He threw away his inheritance on poor investments. She won some money in the lottery, but she threw it away.
4. To utter or perform something in an offhand, seemingly careless way: The play's villain throws away the news that the house has burned down.
5. Sports To throw some football so that the pass is ruled incomplete: Unable to find an open receiver, the quarterback threw the ball away. The quarterback threw away the football to stop the clock.
See also: away, throw
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • drag (someone or something) away
  • drag away
  • drag (someone or something) away from (something)
  • deflect
  • deflect (something) away from (someone or something)
  • deflect away from
  • bring away
  • blaze away
  • blaze away at (someone or something)
  • chuck away
References in periodicals archive
For all its swagger, To Throw Away Unopened has a sweet center and a perspective that makes it a real standout.
To Throw Away Unopened; A Memoir
It's always a shame to throw away a perfectly good box when you could be dining from it instead.
Buy This Futuristic Watch and Then
Coun Derek Prodger, the council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "In the UK we throw away a staggering third of the food we buy, most of which could be eaten.
Door-stepping plan to reduce food wastage
However, the trial also highlighted the huge amounts of food householders throw away each week.
'8 elephants' recycled in six week scheme; FOOD WASTE
MOST Britons throw away damaged household electrical items without any attempt to repair them first.
Everything is disposable; The World Today
being a throw away society ("Understanding the Times," July).
Quality public schools for all
People throw away a total of 6.7 million tonnes of food a year according to the report by government waste body Wrap.
Third of our food tipped
We walk in, order, fill up, consume, and throw away our single-serve cups at least once--and often twice--a day without a thought to the consequences.
The throwaway generation: 25 billion Sytrofoam cups a year
Some super heavy-duty hammers, where there is a large amount of casting around the pin shaft to provide enough strength in the hammer, will not achieve 50 percent "throw away" weight.
Hammer time: several factors can influence the life expectancy of cast auto shredder parts
2) If you insist on chowing down in your chambre, throw away the garbage and take dishes to the kitchen as soon as you refinished noshing.
My room
God was in this man that society wanted to throw away and kill.
Catholics should hang out with poor people; it's not enough to write a few checks to charity. If Christians take their faith seriously, they must spend actual face-to-face time with people who are poor. It took Sister Helen Prejean a while to realize this, but now she believes it's as essential as going to Mass. (sounding board)
Before taking it out one has to wait for the right moment, when it can be assumed that everything there was to throw away has been thrown away; that is, when, having cleared the table, the last bone or peel or crust has slipped down off the smooth surface of the plates.
Leftovers
For one thing, the 156 million ton figure with which we're all now intimate doesn't represent what we throw away in the dump every year; it's what we generate, commercial and institutional sources included.
In Defense of Garbage
Using data that most crystallographers throw away, biophysicists have for the first time taken a close look at the interior organization of a tumor virus.
Making sense of the disorder inside viruses