toss (tosses plural & 3rd person present) (tossing present participle) (tossed past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you toss something somewhere, you throw it there lightly, often in a rather careless way.
He screwed the paper into a ball and tossed it into the fire... V n prep/adv
2 verb If you toss your head or toss your hair, you move your head backwards, quickly and suddenly, often as a way of expressing an emotion such as anger or contempt.
`I'm sure I don't know.' Cook tossed her head... V n
3 verb In sports and informal situations, if you decide something by tossing a coin, you spin a coin into the air and guess which side of the coin will face upwards when it lands.
We tossed a coin to decide who would go out and buy the buns. V n
Toss is also a noun., n-count usu sing
4 n-sing The toss is a way of deciding something, such as who is going to go first in a game, that consists of spinning a coin into the air and guessing which side of the coin will face upwards when it lands.
Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat first.
5 verb If something such as the wind or sea tosses an object, it causes it to move from side to side or up and down.
LITERARY The seas grew turbulent, tossing the small boat like a cork... V n
6 verb If you toss food while preparing it, you put pieces of it into a liquid and lightly shake them so that they become covered with the liquid.
Do not toss the salad until you're ready to serve... V n
8 If you say that someone argues the toss, you are criticizing them for continuing to argue for longer than is necessary about something that is not very important.
(BRIT)
♦
argue the toss phrase
(disapproval)
They were still arguing the toss about the first goal...
9 If you say that you do not give a toss about someone or something, you are emphasizing that you do not care about them at all.
(BRIT)
INFORMAL
♦
give a toss phrase
(emphasis)
Well, who gives a toss about sophistication anyway?...
10 If you toss and turn, you keep moving around in bed and cannot sleep properly, for example because you are ill or worried.
♦
toss and turn phrase