cast anchor

To let down the anchor

ride at anchor

To be anchored

weigh anchor

To take up the anchor

cast /käst/

transitive verb (pat and pap cast)

1. To throw or fling, esp violently
2. To throw (a fishing-line or net) into the water
3. To throw off, get rid of, drop or discard
4. (of animals) to shed or moult (hair, etc)
5. To project or create (a shadow)
6. To throw out or give out (light, heat, etc)
7. To mould or shape (metal, plastic, etc, or artefacts from it)
8. To appoint (an actor for a part, or as a character in a play, etc)
9. To assign (the parts in a play, etc)
10. To voice, express or create (doubts, etc)
11. To reject, condemn, dismiss or decide against
12. To purpose, devise or consider (archaic)
13. To calculate, compute or add up (now rare)
14. To direct (a glance, thoughts, etc)
15. To formulate, or to arrange in a suitable order or form
16. To register (a vote)
17. To predict or calculate (a horoscope) (astrology)
18. To direct hounds over ground where their quarry may have passed (hunting)
19. (of animals) to give birth, esp prematurely
20. To make (printing plates) in stereotype or electrotype (printing)
21. To dig and cut (peat) (Scot)

intransitive verb

1. To throw a fishing-line into the water
2. (of wood) to warp
3. (of sailing vessels) to veer
4. To look or seek
5. (of animals) to moult

noun

1. The act of casting
2. A throw of anything, eg the sounding-lead, a fishing-line, etc
3. The thing thrown, esp in angling
4. The distance thrown
5. A twist or squint, eg of the eye
6. A turn or sample performance
7. A good turn, eg a lift or conveyance in a vehicle (Scot)
8. Indigestible matter ejected by a bird, earthworm, etc
9. A throw or turn of fortune, a chance
10. A mould
11. A rigid casing, usu of plaster of Paris and, often, gauze, for holding a broken bone in place while it sets
12. Form, manner, stamp or quality (esp of a person)
13. An overall shade or tinge of colour
14. The assignment of the various parts of a play, etc to the several actors, etc
15. The company of actors playing roles in a given play, film, etc
16. A pair of hawks (falconry)
17. A second swarm of bees leaving a hive after the first swarm

adjective

1. Moulded
2. Rejected, cast off
3. Defeated at law
4. (of an animal) on its back and unable to get up

castˈed adjective (Shakespeare)

Cast off

castˈing noun

1. The act of casting or moulding
2. That which is cast
3. A mould

castˈaway noun

1. A person shipwrecked in a desolate or isolated place
2. An outcast

adjective

Worthless, rejected

casting couch noun (facetious)

A couch on which actresses are said to be seduced with the promise of a part in a film, play, etc

casting director noun

A person responsible for casting actors for all the parts in a film, TV production, play, etc

castˈing-net noun

A type of net for fishing

casting vote noun

A chairman's deciding vote in case of deadlock

castˈing-weight noun

The weight that makes the balance cast or turn when exactly poised

cast iron noun

An iron-carbon alloy distinguished from steel by its containing substantial amounts of cementite or graphite, meaning it is unsuitable for working and must be cast

cast-iˈron adjective

1. Hard, rigid
2. Very strong
3. Unarguable, incontestable

castˈ-off adjective

Rejected, laid aside, given away, no longer wanted, etc

noun

1. Anything, esp clothing, given or thrown away, no longer wanted, etc
2. The act or result of casting off manuscript or keyed copy

cast-steelˈ noun

Steel that has been cast, not shaped by mechanical working

cast about or around

1. To look about, to search (for) literally or in one's mind
2. To turn, to go round (Bible)

cast a horoscope or nativity

To make an astrological calculation of someone's future or character

cast anchor

To anchor a ship

cast an eye or a glance

To look briefly and informally

cast a spell (upon)

To utter or perform an enchantment or to put under an enchantment

cast a vote

To record or make a vote

cast away

1. To wreck
2. To waste

cast back

To direct one's thoughts to the past

cast down

1. To deject or depress mentally
2. To turn downward

cast loose

To set loose or adrift

cast lots see under lot

cast off

1. To reject
2. To release (hawks or hounds) in order to hunt or pick up a scent
3. To release (a boat) from its moorings
4. (in knitting, etc) to eliminate stitches by looping them together and removing them from the pins
5. To calculate the amount of printed matter that manuscript or keyed copy will make when typeset

cast on

(in knitting, etc) to make stitches

cast out (Scot)

To quarrel

cast up

1. To throw up
2. To bring up or mention (a past error, wrongdoing, etc) as a reproach
3. To turn up, appear or emerge (Scot)
4. To total a column of figures

cast water (archaic)

To inspect or test urine in medical diagnosis

the last cast

Extremities