English
cast
see also: Cast, CAST
Etymology

From Middle English casten, from Old Norse kasta, from Proto-Germanic *kastōną, of unknown origin.

Cognate with Scots cast, Danish kaste, Swedish kasta, Icelandic kasta. In the sense of "flinging", displaced native warp.

The senses relating to broadcasting are based on that same term; compare -cast.

Pronunciation Verb

cast (casts, present participle casting; simple past and past participle cast)

  1. (physical) To move, or be moved, away.
    1. (now somewhat literary) To throw. [from 13th c.]
      • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
        Why then a Ladder quaintly made of Cords / To cast vp, with a paire of anchoring hookes, / Would serue to scale another Hero's towre […].
      • 1759–1767, [Laurence Sterne], The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume (please specify |volume=I to IX), London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], page 262 ↗:
        The more, an' please your honour, the pity, said the Corporal; in uttering which, he cast his spade into the wheelbarrow […].
    2. To throw forward (a fishing line, net etc.) into the sea. [from 14th c.]
      • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC ↗, Matthew iiij:
        As Jesus walked by the see off Galile, he sawe two brethren: Simon which was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, castynge a neet into the see (for they were fisshers) […].
    3. To throw down or aside. [from 15th c.]
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗:
        So she to Guyon offred it to tast; / Who taking it out of her tender hond, / The cup to ground did violently cast, / That all in peeces it was broken fond […]
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Matthew 6:30 ↗:
        it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
      • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 316:
        Her bow is not to her liking. In a temper, she casts it on the grass.
    4. (of an animal) To throw off (the skin) as a process of growth; to shed the hair or fur of the coat. [from 15th c.]
    5. (obsolete except in set phrases) To remove, take off (clothes). [from 14th c.]
      • 1822, “Life of Donald McBane”, in Blackwood's Magazine, volume 12, page 745:
        when the serjeant saw me, he cast his coat and put it on me, and they carried me on their shoulders to a village where the wounded were and our surgeons […].
    6. (nautical) To heave the lead and line in order to ascertain the depth of water.
    7. (obsolete) To vomit.
      • 1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC ↗, Act I, scene i ↗:
        These verses […] make me ready to cast.
    8. (archaic) To throw up, as a mound, or rampart.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Luke 19:48 ↗:
        Thine enemies shall cast a trench [bank] about thee.
    9. (archaic) To throw out or emit; to exhale.
      • 1695 (first published), 1726 (final dated of publication) John Woodward, An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies
        This […] casts a sulphurous smell.
      • 1849, Philip Henry Gosse, Natural History:
        This horned bird, as it casts a strong smell, so it hath a foul look, much exceeding the European Raven in bigness
  2. To direct (one's eyes, gaze etc.). [from 13th c.]
    • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      To whom do Lyons cast their gentle Lookes? Not to the Beast, that would vsurpe their Den.
    • 1813 January 26, [Jane Austen], chapter 11, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC ↗:
      She then yawned again, threw aside her book, and cast her eyes round the room in quest of some amusement […].
  3. (dated except in accounting) To add up (a column of figures, accounts etc.); cross-cast refers to adding up a row of figures. [from 14th c.]
    • c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC ↗, Act I ↗:
      To what this ten years' tribute will amount,
      That we have cast, but cannot compass it
      By reason of the wars, that robb'd our store
    • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      The Clearke of Chartam: hee can write and / reade, and cast accompt.
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC ↗:
      I cannot yet cast account either with penne or Counters.
    • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC ↗:
      I cast up the notches on my post, and found I had been on shore three hundred and sixty-five days.
  4. (social) To predict, to decide, to plan.
    1. (astrology) To calculate the astrological value of (a horoscope, birth etc.). [from 14th c.]
      • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC ↗:
        , vol.1, New York Review of Books, 2001, p.309:
        he is […] a perfect astrologer, that can cast the rise and fall of others, and mark their errant motions to his own use.
      • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 332:
        John Gadbury confessed that Mrs Cellier, ‘the Popish Midwife’, had asked him to cast the King's nativity, although the astrology claimed to have refused to do so.
      • 1985, Lawrence Durrell, Quinx, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p.1197:
        He did the washing up and stayed behind to watch the dinner cook while she hopped off with a friend to have her horoscope cast by another friend.
    2. (obsolete) To plan, intend. [14th]
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗:
        I wrapt my selfe in Palmers weed, / And cast to seeke him forth through daunger and great dreed.
      • 1685, William Temple, "Upon the Gardens of Epicurus:
        The cloister […] had, I doubt not, been cast for [an orange-house].
    3. (transitive) To assign (a role in a play or performance). [from 18th c.]
      The director cast the part carefully.
    4. (transitive) To assign a role in a play or performance to (an actor).
      The director cast John Smith as King Lear.
    5. (transitive) To describe in an opinionated way. Mostly used with a metaphor involving light.
      King John cast his predecessor in a negative light to deflect criticism of his own questionable decisions.
    6. To consider; to turn or revolve in the mind; to plan.
      to cast about for reasons
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Luke 1:29 ↗:
        She […] cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
    7. (archaic) To impose; to bestow; to rest.
      • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:
        The government I cast upon my brother.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Psalms 4:22 ↗:
        Cast thy burden upon the Lord.
    8. (archaic) To defeat in a lawsuit; to decide against; to convict.
      to be cast in damages
      • 1822, John Galt, The Provost:
        She was cast to be hanged.
      • 1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […], →OCLC ↗:
        Were the case referred to any competent judge, […] they would inevitably be cast.
    9. To turn (the balance or scale); to overbalance; hence, to make preponderate; to decide.
      a casting voice
      • 24 July, 1659, Robert South, Interest Deposed, and Truth Restored
        How much interest casts the balance in cases dubious!
  5. To perform, bring forth (a magical spell or enchantment).
  6. To throw (light etc.) on or upon something, or in a given direction.
    • 1960, Lawrence Durrell, Clea:
      A sudden thought cast a gloom over his countenance.
  7. (archaic) To give birth to (a child) prematurely; to miscarry. [from 15th c.]
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC ↗:
      , Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.98:
      being with childe, they may without feare of accusation, spoyle and cast [translating avorter] their children, with certaine medicaments, which they have only for that purpose.
    • 1650, Thomas Browne, chapter V, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC ↗, 1st book, page 20 ↗:
      The abortion of a woman they describe by an horse kicking a wolf; because a mare will cast her foal if she tread in the track of that animal.
  8. To shape (molten metal etc.) by pouring into a mould; to make (an object) in such a way. [from 15th c.]
    1. (printing, dated) To stereotype or electrotype.
  9. To twist or warp (of fabric, timber etc.). [from 16th c.]
    • c. 1680, Joseph Moxon, The Art of Joinery:
      Stuff is said to cast or warp when […] it alters its flatness or straightness.
  10. (nautical) To bring the bows of a sailing ship on to the required tack just as the anchor is weighed by use of the headsail; to bring (a ship) round. [from 18th c.]
  11. To deposit (a ballot or voting paper); to formally register (one's vote). [from 19th c.]
  12. (computing) To change a variable type from, for example, integer to real, or integer to text. [from 20th c.]
    To display a number, you need to cast it to a string type.
  13. (hunting) Of dogs, hunters: to spread out and search for a scent. [from 18th c.]
  14. (medicine) To set (a bone etc.) in a cast.
  15. (Wicca) To open a circle in order to begin a spell or meeting of witches.
  16. (media) To broadcast (video) over the Internet or a local network, especially to one's television.
    The streamer was the first to cast footage of the new game.
Conjugation
Conjugation of cast

infinitive (to) cast
present tense past tense
1st-person singular cast cast
2nd-person singular

 cast, castest†

 cast, castest†
3rd-person singular

 casts, casteth†

 cast
plural

 cast

subjunctive

 cast

cast
imperative

 cast

—
participles

 casting

 cast

†Archaic or obsolete.

Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

cast (plural casts)

  1. An act of throwing.
  2. (fishing) An instance of throwing out a fishing line.
  3. Something which has been thrown, dispersed etc.
    • 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:
      a cast of scatter'd dust
  4. A small mass of earth "thrown off" or excreted by a worm.
    The area near the stream was covered with little bubbly worm casts.
  5. The collective group of actors performing a play or production together. Contrasted with crew.
    He’s in the cast of Oliver.
    The cast was praised for a fine performance.
  6. The casting procedure.
    The men got into position for the cast, two at the ladle, two with long rods, all with heavy clothing.
  7. An object made in a mould.
    The cast would need a great deal of machining to become a recognizable finished part.
  8. A supportive and immobilising device used to help mend broken bones.
    The doctor put a cast on the boy’s broken arm.
  9. The mould used to make cast objects.
    A plaster cast was made from his face.
  10. (hawking) The number of hawks (or occasionally other birds) cast off at one time; a pair.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗:
      As when a cast of Faulcons make their flight / An an Herneshaw, that lyes aloft on wing […]
    • 2007, Tim Blanning, The Pursuit of Glory, Penguin, published 2013, page 395:
      Louis XIV was keen, employing a total hawking personnel of 175 and adding a fourth cast of gyrfalcons to hunt hares in 1682 […] .
  11. A squint.
    • 1847, John Churchill, A manual of the principles and practice of ophthalmic medicine and surgery, p. 389, paragraph 1968 ↗:
      The image of the affected eye is clearer and in consequence the diplopy more striking the less the cast of the eye; hence the double vision will be noticed by the patient before the misdirection of the eye attracts the attention of those about him.
    • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 7:
      Arriving in Brittany, the Woodville exiles found a sallow young man, with dark hair curled in the shoulder-length fashion of the time and a penchant for expensively dyed black clothes, whose steady gaze was made more disconcerting by a cast in his left eye – such that while one eye looked at you, the other searched for you.
  12. Visual appearance.
    Her features had a delicate cast to them.
  13. The form of one's thoughts, mind etc.
    • 1894, Wilson Lloyd Bevan, Sir William Petty : A Study in English Economic Literature, page 40:
      The cast of mind which prompted the plan was permanent, and in it are to be found both the strength and the weakness of Petty's character.
    • 1928 February, H[oward] P[hillips] Lovecraft, “The Call of Cthulhu”, in Farnsworth Wright, editor, Weird Tales: A Magazine of the Bizarre and Unusual, volume 11, number 2, Indianapolis, Ind.: Popular Fiction Pub. Co., →OCLC ↗, pages 159–178 and 287:
      Young Wilcox’s rejoinder, which impressed my uncle enough to make him recall and record it verbatim, was of a fantastically poetic cast which must have typified his whole conversation, and which I have since found highly ​characteristic of him.
  14. Obsolete form of caste (“hereditary social class of South Asia”).
    • 1821, Report of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, volumes 12-16, page 160:
      The brahmin's cast is higher than any other cast.
  15. Animal and insect remains which have been regurgitated by a bird.
  16. A group of crabs.
  17. (firearm) The measurement of the angle of a shotgun stock from a top-view center line, used to align the shotgun to the shooter's eye.
    • Savage Arms, "THE PERFECT SHOTGUN FIT," 2021
      Cast is the measurement of the central line of the gun and the stock’s butt. If the butt is tilted slightly to the left of the central line, it’s called “cast on.” If the butt is tilted slightly to the right of the central line, it’s called “cast off.”
  18. A chance or attempt at something.
    Hyponym: last cast
  19. (archaic, colloquial) Assistance given by transporting a person or lightening their labour.
    • 1852, Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, volumes 17-18, page 398:
      The superiors rode în a spring-van, and the rest in the wagon, while I walked the whole distance. None of them had the civility to give me a cast forward on either vehicle, […]
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Adjective

cast (not comparable)

  1. Of an animal, such as a horse or sheep: Lying in a position from which it cannot rise on its own.
Cast
Etymology
  • As a German - surname, Americanized from Kast.
  • As an English surname, variant of Cass.
  • As a French - surname, from Cast, Finistère in Brittany, ultimately from Latin castra.
Proper noun
  1. Surname.
CAST
Proper noun
  1. Initialism of Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking


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