Throwing in gaming means deliberately losing or playing badly. "Are you throwing?" accuses someone of intentionally losing. Outside gaming, throwing also refers to vomiting ("throwing up"). Not concerning unless your teen actually throws matches competitively, in which case it can risk account bans. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in.
throwing
Deliberately playing badly to lose a match.
ˈθroʊ.ɪŋDocumented since 2010s2010sGen ZtrendingCurrent321 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~2010 · 1 year of recorded useSeen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
THROWING VORRIK AT YOU 👉👈 Either position works for him 😤
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Wikipedia: Hammer throw
The hammer throw (Abbreviated as HT) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
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throwing I'm like that's clearly an
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YouTube
physically throwing something at her. If
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Wikipedia: Darts
Darts is both a professional throwing sport and a traditional pub game.
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Definitions
INTERNET
+867100%
#1·Apr 24, 2026INTERNET
Deliberately playing badly to lose a match. The most hated behavior in any ranked ladder — worse than griefing, worse than AFK. "He's throwing" = he's intentionally feeding kills. A reportable offense in every competitive game.
"He's throwing. He picked Yasuno in ARAM and keeps walking into tower."
Origin: Gaming / esports community vocabulary.
For parents
Throwing in gaming means deliberately losing or playing badly. "Are you throwing?" accuses someone of intentionally losing. Outside gaming, throwing also refers to vomiting ("throwing up"). Not concerning unless your teen actually throws matches competitively, in which case it can risk account bans. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in.
For ESL learners
Throwing in gaming contexts is a verb meaning to deliberately lose a match, similar to the older English idiom "to throw a fight." Use in casual gaming chat. Formal equivalent: "intentionally losing." Common non-native mistake: confusing with the standard verb "to throw." Context (esports, gaming) makes the meaning clear. The gerund "throwing" is most common as an accusation: "are you throwing?" Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.
Heard in the wild
“THROWING VORRIK AT YOU 👉👈 Either position works for him 😤”
— Bluesky· May 2026“The hammer throw (Abbreviated as HT) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.”
“throwing I'm like that's clearly an”
“physically throwing something at her. If”
“Darts is both a professional throwing sport and a traditional pub game.”
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Show 2 more dictionary-style senses (imported)
INTERNET
#2·May 2, 2026INTERNET
The process of making ceramic ware on the potter's wheel
Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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INTERNET
#3·May 2, 2026INTERNET
The act by which something is thrown.
Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🎮About Gaming slang
Gaming slang across genres — from OP, nerf, and buff to carry, clutch, jungle, and wombo combo. The lingo of esports, streamers, and ranked lobbies everywhere.
See all Gaming slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "throwing" (T)
throughotherthrow a mickeythrow a sickiethrow a wobblythrowdownthrow-inthrowing arcthrowing codedthrowing corethrowing energythrowing godthrowing mode
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Semantically related
- Threw80%
Past tense of 'throwing' a match — losing a game you should have won, especially through bad decisions in the final stretch. In Twitch chat, 'you threw' is posted when a streamer is comfortably ahead and then snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Different from being outplayed: throwing implies the loss was self-inflicted.
- throwing mode74%
A mental or behavioral state in which someone is actively, continuously fumbling every opportunity in front of them — whether in a game, a relationship, a job situation, or life generally. Being in throwing mode isn't a one-off mistake; it's a sustained streak of self-sabotage so consistent it starts to feel intentional even when it isn't. Someone in throwing mode will misread the room, send the wrong message, fold the winning hand, and somehow make it worse trying to fix it. The mode activates without warning and is very hard to turn off.
- int69%
To make someone lose a match by (mostly) intentionally or unintentionally dying
- int68%
To die repeatedly and catastrophically, feeding kills to the enemy — sometimes from frustration, sometimes on purpose. "He's inting" = he's throwing.