What is another word for throw up?
vomit Throw up is most commonly used as an informal term meaning to
vomit. Like
vomit, it can also be used as a noun—in which case it’s often hyphenated as
throw-up (or, less commonly, spelled as one word—
throwup).
Throw up is informal, but there are many even more informal slang terms, many of which can also be used as both a verb and a noun, including
puke,
barf,
hurl,
spew,
ralph,
upchuck, and
chunder. Slang verb phrases include the unpleasantly vivid
lose one’s lunch and
toss one’s cookies. A particularly fanciful synonym is
do the technicolor yawn. The term
pray to the porcelain god means to bend down in front of the toilet while
throwing up (in a pose that resembles kneeling before an idol). The terms
retch and
heave can both be used as verbs meaning to vomit and as nouns referring to the motion or action of vomiting.
Euphemisms for the verb sense of
throw up include
be sick and
get sick, as in
I might get sick if I go on that roller coaster. A technical term is
regurgitate. Formal, medical terms include
vomitus and
emesis. Baby
throw up from breast milk or formula is often called
spit up, which can also be used as a verb. (From a medical perspective,
spitting up is not quite the same as vomiting.)
Other meanings Throw up can also mean to raise, as in
He threw up his arms in disgust. The literal motion of raising one’s arms in the air out of frustration is the basis of the phrase
throw up one’s hands, meaning to
quit or
give up, especially out of frustration (or to indicate that one is quitting). Another idiom with a similar meaning is
throw in the towel.
Throw up can also mean to build something quickly or hastily, as in
The way they throw up these houses so fast makes you wonder how well-built they could possibly be. The phrases
throw together and
slap together are similar, but they’re often used for smaller things, including intangible ones, as in
I just slapped together that presentation at the last minute or
I hate having to throw together dinner on weeknights.
How do you use throw up in a sentence?
Throw up is informal but commonly used in place of vomit. It can be used as a verb and a noun. When it’s used as a noun, it’s often hyphenated. Here are some examples of
throw up in a sentence:
- My migraine was so bad it made me throw up.
- They used sawdust to clean up the throw-up.
- I just threw up my hands and walked away, done with the committee forever.
- You can’t just throw up a skyscraper like any old building—it requires unique considerations.
