free thrown.
/ˈfriː θrəʊ/, U.S. /ˈfri ˌθroʊ/ Sport.
A throw which can be taken without obstruction by opponents or defenders, typically awarded as a penalty for a foul committed by an opposing team. Chiefly Basketball: a chance or attempt to score from a designated line in front of the basket, awarded in this way.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > basketball > [noun] > types of shot or ball
free throw1888
foul shot1902
jump shot1909
jump ball1924
pop shot1933
jumper1937
set shot1940
lay-up1948
fallaway1949
bonus1955
hook-shot1957
sky-hook1959
buzzer beater1965
brick1971
spot-up1992
1888 Outing June 285/1 [In lacrosse] A free throw is to be given to a party claiming and securing a foul.
1895 Brooklyn Daily Eagle 18 Dec. 10/4 The Plainfields scored one goal by a free throw for goal on a foul and that was all.
1923 Times 21 July 6/7 Middlesex beat Surrey in the water polo County Championship at the Richmond Swimming Club's gala, by 4 goals to 2. The game was marred by the number of free throws given.
1965 J. McPhee Sense of where you Are ii. 53 Such overguarding often provides Bradley with enough free throws to give his team the margin of victory.
1986 Rebound No. 1. 34/1 His stats showed he shot 796 field goals and 441 free throws for a massive 2,115 points.
2001 National Post (Canada) 21 May b2/6 Oakley, inexplicably, missed a layup, and the Raptors clanked four of their 17 free throws.
Compounds
free-throw circle n. Basketball a circle at each end of the court encompassing (and typically bisected by) the free-throw line, the area within the circle and behind the line being that from which free throws are taken.
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1919 Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gaz. 21 Feb. 12/1 With but three minutes left to play Casserly dropped in a pretty one from outside the free throw circle.
2003 K. D. Harrell Attitude of Gratitude ix. 87 I remember catching the ball from the top of the key (right above the free-throw circle).
free-throw lane n. Basketball a marked area at each end of the court, bounded by the free-throw line, the baseline, and two parallel lines running between these, into which players cannot enter while a free throw is being taken.
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1915 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel 28 Oct. 8/6 Players will be allowed to enter the free throw lane as soon as the ball hits the basket or background.
2001 P. Jackson & C. Rosen More than Game (2002) xii. 174 We even instituted special isolation plays for Glen from the pinch post at the edge of the free-throw lane.
free-throw line n. Basketball a line at each end of the court, typically 12 feet (approx. 3.7 metres) long and 19 feet (approx. 5.8 metres) from the baseline (and parallel to it), from behind which free throws are taken.
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1908 Washington Post 2 Feb. 4/6 Forward Janda..threw two of the four into Portage's basket from the free throw line.
1998 New Yorker 1 June 48/3 He's at the free-throw line, glistening with sweat and glowering at the basket.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1888