cast

v. & n.
—v. (past and past part. cast)
1 tr. throw, esp. deliberately or forcefully.
2 tr. (often foll. by on, over) a direct or cause to fall (one's eyes, a glance, light, a shadow, a spell, etc.). b express (doubts, aspersions, etc.).
3 tr. throw out (a fishing-line) into the water.
4 tr. let down (an anchor or sounding-lead).
5 tr. a throw off, get rid of. b shed (skin etc.) esp. in the process of growth. c (of a horse) lose (a shoe).
6 tr. record, register, or give (a vote).
7 tr. a shape (molten metal or plastic material) in a mould. b make (a product) in this way.
8 tr. Printing make (type).
9 tr. a (usu. foll. by as) assign (an actor) to play a particular character. b allocate roles in (a play, film, etc.).
10 tr. (foll. by in, into) arrange or formulate (facts etc.) in a specified form.
11 tr. & intr. reckon, add up, calculate (accounts or figures).
12 tr. calculate and record details of (a horoscope).
—n.
1 a the throwing of a missile etc. b the distance reached by this.
2 a throw or a number thrown at dice.
3 a throw of a net, sounding-lead, or fishing-line.
4 Fishing a that which is cast, esp. the gut with hook and fly. b a place for casting (a good cast).
5 a an object of metal, clay, etc., made in a mould. b a moulded mass of solidified material, esp. plaster protecting a broken limb.
6 the actors taking part in a play, film, etc.
7 form, type, or quality (cast of features; cast of mind).
8 a tinge or shade of colour.
9 a (in full cast in the eye) a slight squint. b a twist or inclination.
10 a a mass of earth excreted by a worm. b a mass of indigestible food thrown up by a hawk, owl, etc.
11 the form into which any work is thrown or arranged.
12 a a wide area covered by a dog or pack to find a trail. b Austral. & NZ a wide sweep made by a sheepdog in mustering sheep.
Phrases and idioms:
cast about (or around or round) make an extensive search (actually or mentally) (cast about for a solution). cast adrift leave to drift. cast ashore (of waves etc.) throw to the shore. cast aside give up using; abandon. cast away
1 reject.
2 (in passive) be shipwrecked (cf. CASTAWAY). cast one's bread upon the waters see BREAD. cast down depress, deject (cf. DOWNCAST). casting vote a deciding vote usu. given by the chairperson when the votes on two sides are equal.
Usage:
From an obsolete sense of cast = turn the scale. cast iron a hard alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon cast in a mould. cast-iron adj.
1 made of cast iron.
2 hard, unchallengeable, unchangeable. cast loose detach; detach oneself. cast lots see LOT. cast-net a net thrown out and immediately drawn in.
cast off
1 abandon.
2 Knitting take the stitches off the needle by looping each over the next to finish the edge.
3 Naut. a set a ship free from a quay etc. b loosen and throw off (rope etc.).
4 Printing estimate the space that will be taken in print by manuscript copy. cast-off adj. abandoned, discarded.
—n. a cast-off thing, esp. a garment. cast on Knitting make the first row of loops on the needle. cast out expel. cast up
1 (of the sea) deposit on the shore.
2 add up (figures etc.).
Etymology: ME f. ON kasta