Touch vs Throw - What's the difference?

As verbs the difference between touch and throw

is that touch is primarily physical senses while throw is to hurl; to cause an object to move rapidly through the air.

As nouns the difference between touch and throw

is that touch is an act of touching, especially with the hand or finger while throw is the flight of a thrown object; as, a fast throw or throw can be pain, especially pain associated with childbirth; throe or throw can be (obsolete) a moment, time, occasion or throw can be .

touch

English

Verb

(es)

Primarily physical senses.

# (label) To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.

# (label) To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect.

# (label) To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact.

# (label) To make physical contact with a thing.

# (label) To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact.

#* (Bible), (w) xxvi. 28, 29

Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee.

# (label) To physically affect in specific ways implied by context.

# (label) To consume, or otherwise use.

#*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1

, passage=But Richmond

# (label) Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at).

#* 1851 , (Herman Melville), (Moby-Dick) :

Now a certain grand merchant ship once touched at Rokovoko, and its commander — from all accounts, a very stately punctilious gentleman, at least for a sea captain — this commander was invited to the wedding feast of Queequeg's sister, a pretty young princess just turned of ten.

#* 1971 , , Religion and the Decline of Magic , Folio Society (2012), page 189:

But in fact the English kings of the seventeenth century usually began to touch form the day of their accession, without waiting for any such consecration.

# To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.

#* (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)

Strong waters pierce metals, and will touch' upon gold, that will not ' touch upon silver.

# (label) To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

# To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

# (label) To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible.

Primarily non-physical senses.

# (label) To imbue or endow with a specific quality.

#*, I.2.4.vii:

Next to sorrow still I may annex such accidents as procure fear; for besides those terrors which I have before touched ,which much trouble many of us.

# (label) To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on'' or ''upon something).

#* 1886 , (Robert Louis Stevenson), (Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde)

"Well, but since we have touched upon this business, and for the last time I hope," continued the doctor, "there is one point I should like you to understand."

# (label) To concern, to have to do with.

#* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , (w) V:

Men of Israhell take hede to youreselves what ye entende to do as touchinge these men.

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.}}

#* 1919 , (Saki), ‘The Penance’, The Toys of Peace , Penguin 2000 (Complete Short Stories), p. 423:

And now it seemed he was engaged in something which touched them closely, but must be hidden from their knowledge.

# (label) To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in.

# (label) To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend).

# (label) To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality.

#* 1928 , , "The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers", in (Lord Peter Views the Body) ,

There was his mistress, Maria Morano. I don't think I've ever seen anything to touch her, and when you work for the screen [as I do] you're apt to have a pretty exacting standard of female beauty.

#* 2012 , July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track

On Sunday afternoon it was as dark as night, with barely room for two riders abreast on a gradient that touches 20%.

# To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.

To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.

* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

I mean to touch your love indeed.

To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.

* (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)

The lines, though touched but faintly, are drawn right.

(label) To infect; to affect slightly.

(Francis Bacon)

To strike; to manipulate; to play on.

* (John Milton) (1608-1674)

[They] touched their golden harps.

To perform, as a tune; to play.

* Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)

A person in the royal retinue touched a light and lively air on the flageolet.

To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.

* (John Milton) (1608-1674)

No decree of mine,[to] touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will.

Derived terms

* touch a nerve * touch base * touch bottom * touch down * touch off * touch on * touch the hem of someone's garment * touch up * touch wood

Noun

(es)

An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.

Suddenly, in the crowd, I felt a touch at my shoulder.

The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.

With the lights out, she had to rely on touch to find her desk.

The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument.

He performed one of Ravel's piano concertos with a wonderfully light and playful touch .

A distinguishing feature or characteristic.

Clever touches like this are what make her such a brilliant writer.

A little bit; a small amount.

Move it left just a touch and it will be perfect.

* Shakespeare

Madam, I have a touch of your condition.

The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.

He got the ball, and kicked it straight out into touch .

A relationship of close communication or understanding.

He promised to keep in touch while he was away.

The ability to perform a task well; aptitude.

I used to be a great chess player but I've lost my touch .

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=September 29 , author=Jon Smith , title=Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Rovers' hopes of pulling off one of the great European shocks of all time lasted just 10 minutes before Spurs finally found their scoring touch .}}

Act or power of exciting emotion.

* Shakespeare

Not alone / The death of Fulvia, with more urgent touches , / Do strongly speak to us.

An emotion or affection.

* Hooker

a true, natural, and a sensible touch of mercy

Personal reference or application.

* Francis Bacon

Speech of touch toward others should be sparingly used.

A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.

* Dryden

Never give the least touch with your pencil till you have well examined your design.

A brief essay.

* Jonathan Swift

Print my preface in such form as, in the booksellers' phrase, will make a sixpenny touch .

A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.

* Shakespeare

Now do I play the touch .

* Fuller

a neat new monument of touch and alabaster

Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.

* Carew

equity, the true touch of all laws

* Shakespeare

friends of noble touch

The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers.

a heavy touch''', or a light '''touch

The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.

The children's game of tag.

Derived terms

* common touch * in touch * light touch * lose one's touch * lose touch * out of touch * soft touch * touch football * touch-kick * touchless * touch oneself * touch-paper * touch piece * touch-type

Statistics

Anagrams

* 1000 English basic words

throw

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .

Verb

To hurl; to cause an object to move rapidly through the air.

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.}}

To eject or cause to fall off.

* Shakespeare

There the snake throws her enamelled skin.

To move to another position or condition; to displace.

* , chapter=17

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.}}

(ceramics) To make (a pot) by shaping clay as it turns on a wheel.

(cricket) Of a bowler, to deliver (the ball) illegally by straightening the bowling arm during delivery.

(computing) To send (an error) to an exception-handling mechanism in order to interrupt normal processing.

(sports) To intentionally lose a game.

* 2012 , August 1. Peter Walker and Haroon Siddique in Guardian Unlimited, Eight Olympic badminton players disqualified for 'throwing games'

Four pairs of women's doubles badminton players, including the Chinese top seeds, have been ejected from the Olympic tournament for trying to throw matches in an effort to secure a more favourable quarter-final draw.

(informal) To confuse or mislead.

* 1999 , Jan Blackstone-Ford, The Custody Solutions Sourcebook - Page 196

"Jann, why does he hate me so much?" That question threw me. I was expecting a lunatic yelling profanities.

(figuratively) To send desperately.

* {{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 28, author=Marc Vesty, work=BBC

, title= Stoke 0-2 Fulham , passage=Stoke threw men forward in numbers as they attempted to find a way back into the game, and Mark Schwarzer was forced into a low save from Huth's close-range effort.}}

To imprison.

* 1818 , (Mary Shelley), (Frankenstein)

The plot of Felix was quickly discovered, and De Lacey and Agatha were thrown into prison.

* 1993 , Margaret McKee, Fred Chisenhall, Beale black & blue: life and music on black America's main street - Page 30

The standard method of dealing with an addict was to arrest him, throw him into a cell, and leave him until the agonizing pangs of withdrawal were over.

To organize an event, especially a party.

* {{quote-news, year=1986, date=March 1, work=Evening News

, title= Bash Planned , passage=And now, Clevelanders hoping to bring the Rock Roll Hall of Fame to their city are throwing a bash to commemorate the 34th birthday of disc Jockey Alan Freed's "Moondog Coronation Ball".}}

* 1979 , Working Mother - July 1979 Page 72[http://books.google.com/books?id=SWEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72&dq=%22throw+a+party%22&hl=en&ei=KGUeTbvyA426hAfw6OC3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=%22throw%20a%20party%22&f=false]

Should you be interested, for whatever reason, it will tell you how to throw a party for your 40-year-old husband or your 100-year-old great-grandmother. It also describes games that can be played at various kinds of parties

To roll (a die or dice).

* 1844 , Samuel Laing translating (Snorri Sturluson), Heimskringla

The kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. The Swedish king threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely throw .

To cause a certain number on the die or dice to be shown after rolling it.

* 1844 , Samuel Laing translating (Snorri Sturluson), Heimskringla

The kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw' the highest should have the district. The Swedish king ' threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely throw.

(bridge) To discard.

* {{quote-news, year=1990, date=January 4, work=(The Washington Times)

, title= Sharp coup overcomes trump split , passage=Declarer threw his queen of spades on the high diamond. He then won the last three tricks with his ace, queen and nine of hearts behind East's jack third.}}

(martial arts) To lift the opponent off the ground and bring him back down, especially into a position behind the thrower.

To subject someone to verbally.

* {{quote-news, year=2007, date=June 11, author=Claude Salhani, work=UPI

, title= Analysis: Irony of Bush's European tour , passage=In other European cities the president visited this week, people waited for his motorcade to pass to throw insults at him, requiring the police to intervene with batons, water cannons and tear gas.}}

(said of animals) To give birth to.

* 1916 , Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association: Volume 49

At the end of the normal gestation period the cow threw two calf mummies as large as cats.

(said of one's voice) To change in order to give the illusion that the voice is that of someone else.

* {{quote-news, year=2005, date=April 13, author=Leon Neyfakh, work=Harvard Crimson

, title= BOOKENDS: Will the Real Jonathan Safran Foer Please Stand Up , passage=“Then, when I throw my voice, when I speak as someone who's quite different from me, it starts to feel very authentic.”}}

To show sudden emotion, especially anger.

* 1991 , Janet L. Davies, Ellen Hastings Janosik, Mental health and psychiatric nursing: a caring approach

Bill runs into the kitchen and tells Dad that Erik is throwing a tantrum. He tells Bill to go back and watch his program and to ignore his brother. Fifteen minutes later, Erik is still screaming

* 1996 , New York Magazine Vol. 29, No. 32 - 19 Aug 1996; Entertaining Mrs Stone

In 1975, pregnant with the second of her three children, she threw a hissy fit to get on a trip to Boston for elected officials.

To project or send forth.

* 1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Chapter I,

Warwick left the undertaker's shop and retraced his steps until he had passed the lawyer's office, toward which he threw an affectionate glance.

To put on hastily; to spread carelessly.

* Alexander Pope

O'er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw .

To twist two or more filaments of (silk, etc.) so as to form one thread; to twist together, as singles, in a direction contrary to the twist of the singles themselves; sometimes applied to the whole class of operations by which silk is prepared for the weaver.

(Tomlinson)

Synonyms

* (cause an object to move rapidly through the air) bowl, bung, buzz, cast, catapult, chuck, dash, direct, fire, fling, flip, heave, hurl, launch, lob, pitch, project, propel, send, shoot, shy, sling, toss, whang * (eject or cause to fall off) eject, throw off * (move to another position) displace, relocate * See also

Derived terms

* a stone's throw * overthrow * throw a bone to * throw a fit * throw away, throw-away * throw a wobbly * throwback * throw down the gauntlet * throw in the sponge * throw in the towel * throwing * throw shapes * throw the book at * throw up * throw one's weight around

Noun

(en noun)

The flight of a thrown object; as, a fast throw.

The act of throwing something.

A distance travelled; displacement; as, the throw of the piston.

A piece of fabric used to cover a bed, sofa or other soft furnishing.

A single instance, occurrence, venture, or chance.

Football tickets are expensive at fifty bucks a throw .

Derived terms

* throw pillow * throw-up

References

* Krueger, Dennis (December 1982). "Why On Earth Do They Call It Throwing?" Studio Potter Vol. 11, Number 1.[http://www.studiopotter.org/articles/?art=art0001]

Etymology 2

From (etyl) (m), alteration of (m), from (etyl) . More at (m).

Noun

(en noun)

Pain, especially pain associated with childbirth; throe.

(Spenser)

(Dryden)

(veterinary) The act of giving birth in animals, especially in cows.

Etymology 3

From (etyl), from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)

(obsolete) A moment, time, occasion.

(obsolete) A period of time; a while.

* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.iv:

Downe himselfe he layd / Vpon the grassie ground, to sleepe a throw ; / The cold earth was his couch, the hard steele his pillow.

Synonyms

* (l)

Etymology 4

Noun

(head)

Anagrams

* * English irregular verbs