toss

The word "toss" is similar to yesterday’s word of the day, "throw."

• I tossed the ball to my son.
• You can toss that shirt into the laundry.
• Jeremy tossed some money into the collection plate during the church service.
• Don’t toss that paper away. Save it for later.
• The players fighting on the field were tossed from the game.

When a person has trouble going to sleep, he or she tosses and turns. This sort of action is an indication of restlessness.

• Mary couldn’t get to sleep. She tossed and turned all night.
• Roger kept tossing and turning last night because of indigestion.

The word "toss" is often used when describing the preparation of a salad. In this case, "toss" is similar to the word "mix."

He’s tossing the salad.

• After the lettuce and the vegetables are put into the bowl, toss them all together so that they are well mixed.
• I had a tossed salad with ranch dressing for lunch.

When deciding the fate of something or when trying to make a difficult decision, sometimes we leave it to a coin toss:

• When I toss the quarter into the air, call it heads or tails.
• John the lost the coin toss, so he drove all the way to Chicago while his friend, Dan, took a nap in the passenger seat.

Click here to go to the Word of the Day page.

This page was first published on November 16, 2012.