Old English thrāwu threat; related to Old High German drawa threat, Old Norse thrā desire, thrauka to endure
throe in American English
(θroʊ)
noun
a spasm or pang of pain
usually used in pl.
the throes of childbirth, death throes
Idioms:
in the throes of
Word origin
ME throwe, prob. < OE thrawu, pain, affliction, akin to ON thrā, strong yearning < IE *treu- (> Gr trauma, a wound) < base *ter-, to rub, grind > throw
Examples of 'throe' in a sentence
throe
The chain is in the final throes of a painful debt restructuring.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The new consoles will face a gaming industry in the throes of a revolution.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
What he suggests instead is that young people in the first throes of romance should text each other love poetry.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In the death throes of her first marriage, she produced some of her most brilliant work.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
This new man was in the early throes of a divorce, but meeting me again hastened it.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
I was in the final throes of panic.
John Walsh ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?: A Life Through the Movies (2004)
The special effects are stunning, but the film also has real heart simply as a drama about a family in throes of divorce.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Likewise, half said that any man who looked after his appearance was often wrongly accused of being in the throes of midlife crisis.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
THE first five years he watched from afar the last death throes of Labour.
The Sun (2015)
Regal women, from mostly unknown baroque operas, all in the throes of deep crisis.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The head coach will find the sport in Britain in modest health, neither in the throes of a crisis nor pulling up trees.