"throw in the towel" meaning in English

See throw in the towel in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-throw in the towel.ogg Forms: throws in the towel [present, singular, third-person], throwing in the towel [participle, present], threw in the towel [past], thrown in the towel [participle, past]
Etymology: From the traditional signal from a boxer's support staff of throwing such an item into a boxing ring to indicate that the contestant cannot continue the match and is forfeiting to the opponent. Head templates: {{en-verb|throw<,,threw,thrown> in the towel}} throw in the towel (third-person singular simple present throws in the towel, present participle throwing in the towel, simple past threw in the towel, past participle thrown in the towel)
  1. (idiomatic) To quit; to give up. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: throw in the cards, throw in the sponge, throw up one's hands, throw up the sponge Related terms: throw to the dogs, throw to the wolves Translations ((idiomatic) to quit; to give up): llançar la tovallola (Catalan), tirar la tovallola (Catalan), hodit flintu do žita (Czech), kaste håndklædet i ringen (Danish), smide håndklædet i ringen (Danish), de handdoek in de ring werpen (Dutch), alla andma (Estonian), heittää pyyhe kehään (Finnish), jeter l’éponge (French), jeter la serviette (French), jeter le manche après la cognée (French), das Handtuch werfen (German), die Flinte ins Korn werfen (German), bedobja a törülközőt (Hungarian), leggja árar í bát (Icelandic), springa á limminu (Icelandic), henda inn handklæðinu (Icelandic), melempar handuk (Indonesian), do hata a chaitheamh leis (Irish), an tuáille a chaitheamh isteach (Irish), do lámh a chaitheamh i bpaca (Irish), gettare la spugna (Italian), gettare le armi (Italian), 匙を投げる (saji o nageru) (alt: さじをなげる) (Japanese), お手上げ (oteage) (alt: おてあげ) (Japanese), putih mata (Malay), kaste inn håndkledet (Norwegian), rozkładać ręce [imperfective] (Polish), rozłożyć ręce [perfective] (Polish), jogar a toalha (Portuguese), подня́ть бе́лый флаг (podnjátʹ bélyj flag) [perfective] (Russian), опусти́ть ру́ки (opustítʹ rúki) [perfective] (Russian), сда́ться (sdátʹsja) [perfective] (Russian), призна́ть своё пораже́ние (priznátʹ svojó poražénije) (Russian), призна́ть себя́ побежде́нным (priznátʹ sebjá pobeždénnym) (Russian), сложи́ть ору́жие (složítʹ orúžije) (Russian), leig an saoghal leis an t-sruth (Scottish Gaelic), baciti pušku u šaš (Serbo-Croatian), hadzať flintu do žita (Slovak), vreči puško v koruzo (Slovene), tirar la toalla (Spanish), botar la toalla (Spanish), tirar la toballa (Spanish), tirar la tobaja (Spanish), kasta in handduken (Swedish), kasta yxan i sjön (Swedish), havlu atmak (Turkish), rhoi'r ffidil yn y to (Welsh), taflu'r drol (Welsh)

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_text": "From the traditional signal from a boxer's support staff of throwing such an item into a boxing ring to indicate that the contestant cannot continue the match and is forfeiting to the opponent.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "throws in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "throwing in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "threw in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thrown in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "throw<,,threw,thrown> in the towel"
      },
      "expansion": "throw in the towel (third-person singular simple present throws in the towel, present participle throwing in the towel, simple past threw in the towel, past participle thrown in the towel)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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        },
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        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If their restaurant can't get business even on Mother's Day, it might be time for them to throw in the towel.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII:",
          "text": "In short, there was so much space and so many things to shove things behind that most people, called on to find a silver cow-creamer there, would have said “Oh, what's the use?” and thrown in the towel.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 July 10, Christian Wolmar, “The future of the rail franchises is certainly uncertain”, in RAIL, number 1013, page 50:",
          "text": "One key imponderable is the attitude of the companies that will no longer have a role in the business. It is worth noting here that several have already thrown the towel in or been gently pushed out, such as Stagecoach and National Express.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To quit; to give up."
      ],
      "id": "en-throw_in_the_towel-en-verb-RLBBkNy0",
      "links": [
        [
          "quit",
          "quit"
        ],
        [
          "give up",
          "give up"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To quit; to give up."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "throw to the dogs"
        },
        {
          "word": "throw to the wolves"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "throw in the cards"
        },
        {
          "word": "throw in the sponge"
        },
        {
          "word": "throw up one's hands"
        },
        {
          "word": "throw up the sponge"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "llançar la tovallola"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "tirar la tovallola"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "hodit flintu do žita"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "kaste håndklædet i ringen"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "smide håndklædet i ringen"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "de handdoek in de ring werpen"
        },
        {
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "alla andma"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "heittää pyyhe kehään"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "jeter l’éponge"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "jeter la serviette"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "jeter le manche après la cognée"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "das Handtuch werfen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "die Flinte ins Korn werfen"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "bedobja a törülközőt"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "leggja árar í bát"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "springa á limminu"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "henda inn handklæðinu"
        },
        {
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "melempar handuk"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "do hata a chaitheamh leis"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "an tuáille a chaitheamh isteach"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "do lámh a chaitheamh i bpaca"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "gettare la spugna"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "gettare le armi"
        },
        {
          "alt": "さじをなげる",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "saji o nageru",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "匙を投げる"
        },
        {
          "alt": "おてあげ",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "oteage",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "お手上げ"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "putih mata"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "kaste inn håndkledet"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "rozkładać ręce"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "rozłożyć ręce"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "jogar a toalha"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "podnjátʹ bélyj flag",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "подня́ть бе́лый флаг"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "opustítʹ rúki",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "опусти́ть ру́ки"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "sdátʹsja",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "сда́ться"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "priznátʹ svojó poražénije",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "призна́ть своё пораже́ние"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "priznátʹ sebjá pobeždénnym",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "призна́ть себя́ побежде́нным"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "složítʹ orúžije",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "сложи́ть ору́жие"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "leig an saoghal leis an t-sruth"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "baciti pušku u šaš"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "hadzať flintu do žita"
        },
        {
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "vreči puško v koruzo"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "tirar la toalla"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "botar la toalla"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "tirar la toballa"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "tirar la tobaja"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "kasta in handduken"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "kasta yxan i sjön"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "havlu atmak"
        },
        {
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "rhoi'r ffidil yn y to"
        },
        {
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
          "word": "taflu'r drol"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-throw in the towel.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e6/En-au-throw_in_the_towel.ogg/En-au-throw_in_the_towel.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/En-au-throw_in_the_towel.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "throw in the towel"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From the traditional signal from a boxer's support staff of throwing such an item into a boxing ring to indicate that the contestant cannot continue the match and is forfeiting to the opponent.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "throws in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "throwing in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "threw in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thrown in the towel",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "throw<,,threw,thrown> in the towel"
      },
      "expansion": "throw in the towel (third-person singular simple present throws in the towel, present participle throwing in the towel, simple past threw in the towel, past participle thrown in the towel)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "throw to the dogs"
    },
    {
      "word": "throw to the wolves"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English light verb constructions",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English predicates",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Russian terms with redundant script codes",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Danish translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Estonian translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Icelandic translations",
        "Terms with Indonesian translations",
        "Terms with Irish translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Malay translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Slovak translations",
        "Terms with Slovene translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Turkish translations",
        "Terms with Welsh translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If their restaurant can't get business even on Mother's Day, it might be time for them to throw in the towel.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII:",
          "text": "In short, there was so much space and so many things to shove things behind that most people, called on to find a silver cow-creamer there, would have said “Oh, what's the use?” and thrown in the towel.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 July 10, Christian Wolmar, “The future of the rail franchises is certainly uncertain”, in RAIL, number 1013, page 50:",
          "text": "One key imponderable is the attitude of the companies that will no longer have a role in the business. It is worth noting here that several have already thrown the towel in or been gently pushed out, such as Stagecoach and National Express.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To quit; to give up."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "quit",
          "quit"
        ],
        [
          "give up",
          "give up"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To quit; to give up."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-throw in the towel.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e6/En-au-throw_in_the_towel.ogg/En-au-throw_in_the_towel.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/En-au-throw_in_the_towel.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "throw in the cards"
    },
    {
      "word": "throw in the sponge"
    },
    {
      "word": "throw up one's hands"
    },
    {
      "word": "throw up the sponge"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "llançar la tovallola"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "tirar la tovallola"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "hodit flintu do žita"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "kaste håndklædet i ringen"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "smide håndklædet i ringen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "de handdoek in de ring werpen"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "alla andma"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "heittää pyyhe kehään"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "jeter l’éponge"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "jeter la serviette"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "jeter le manche après la cognée"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "das Handtuch werfen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "die Flinte ins Korn werfen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "bedobja a törülközőt"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "leggja árar í bát"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "springa á limminu"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "henda inn handklæðinu"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "melempar handuk"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "do hata a chaitheamh leis"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "an tuáille a chaitheamh isteach"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "do lámh a chaitheamh i bpaca"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "gettare la spugna"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "gettare le armi"
    },
    {
      "alt": "さじをなげる",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "saji o nageru",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "匙を投げる"
    },
    {
      "alt": "おてあげ",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "oteage",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "お手上げ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "putih mata"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "kaste inn håndkledet"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "rozkładać ręce"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "rozłożyć ręce"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "jogar a toalha"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "podnjátʹ bélyj flag",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "подня́ть бе́лый флаг"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "opustítʹ rúki",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "опусти́ть ру́ки"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "sdátʹsja",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "сда́ться"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "priznátʹ svojó poražénije",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "призна́ть своё пораже́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "priznátʹ sebjá pobeždénnym",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "призна́ть себя́ побежде́нным"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "složítʹ orúžije",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "сложи́ть ору́жие"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "leig an saoghal leis an t-sruth"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "baciti pušku u šaš"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "hadzať flintu do žita"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "vreči puško v koruzo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "tirar la toalla"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "botar la toalla"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "tirar la toballa"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "tirar la tobaja"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "kasta in handduken"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "kasta yxan i sjön"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "havlu atmak"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "rhoi'r ffidil yn y to"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "(idiomatic) to quit; to give up",
      "word": "taflu'r drol"
    }
  ],
  "word": "throw in the towel"
}

Download raw JSONL data for throw in the towel meaning in English (9.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.